The Darkhorse
by L Boogie
Summary: Hunted down by ANBU from Otagakure, Temari is miraculously rescued by Konoha's own Darkhorse. Now, trouble seems to be on the horizon and Shikamaru must take on more and more responsibility to protect the people he cares for and the village he loves.
1. Troubled Men, Troublesome Women

Author Notes- Yo. So here I go as I cast my creative dice into the world of Naruto in support of possibly my most favorite couple in Anime of all time (cause while I love the School Rumble stuff, I'm slightly torn with some of the coupling where as this is damn clear cut to me…) Anyhow, here I go. This story takes place about 2 and a half years after Shippuden, which isn't finished as far as I know, however that's not terribly important. More will be revealed in the second chapter as far as the background information goes. Oh well, enjoy!

Legal Info- I don't own Naruto. If I did, people probably wouldn't like it. I'm kinda wishy washy on some of the coupling, however this is the only one I firmly believe in, so if I did own it, it would be canon. However I don't own it…though I do stake claim in any characters that I create along the way for the benefit of general story telling and plot purpose.

The Darkhorse: A Naruto Fan Fiction

Of Troubled Men, and Troublesome Women

" This…is troublesome…" said the young man, rubbing the back of his neck.

Looking up at the sky, he took in the time of day. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was only setting further. Had this been a field mission, he'd be more at ease, and maybe even happy at this fact. His abilities were much stronger starting at this time of day. Still though, this wasn't supposed to be a mission out in the field. Simply, he was waiting for someone.

But…in his opinion, she was way too troublesome to be just someone.

Taking another impatient look up at the sky, he yawned, then sat down at the base of a nearby tree. The spiky haired man stretched his legs and craned his neck about, until the bone gave a mild cracking sound.

" She's late. Why does that woman have to be so much trouble…" he said aloud, despite no one being there to hear it.

Taking in a deep breath, his eyes began to slowly close. With a yawn quickly following, he decided to just nap there and deal with her when she came along. After all, he was near the border, between their respective lands, and there had been a lasting peace now for almost five years, so napping out by the main road wouldn't be so hazardous.

And with that, he dozed off, dreaming peacefully of clouds, friends, and leisurely games of Shogi.

A drop of rain landing squarely on his nose stirred the young man awake. With a yawn he opened his eyes, seeing a figure off in the distance. He blinked once or twice and came to the realization that it was the woman he had been waiting for.

_About time Temari…_

He slowly stood up and yawned again, however took notice that she was much closer than he was expecting. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes in order to get a clearer view on why she was approaching so fast, and suddenly noticed that her clothes were haggard and torn and that she was running with a slight limp. In the distance behind her, he saw numerous figures approaching. A grim realization poured over him as he saw the masks they bared, and drew one of his kunai knives at their approach. Once the limping woman caught up to him, he took her arm and they made a run of it.

" What the hell is that? Why are ANBU special ops after you? And where are they from?" yelled a highly annoyed and already strategizing Shikamaru.

" I'm doing well enough, thanks for asking…they belong to the Sound…" Temari spat as they kept up a hurried pace.

" Are you serious? What do the ANBU of Sound want you for?" Shikamaru asked, tying a piece of a scroll to his kunai.

" I was over there earlier in the week to oversee how their Genin were preparing for the exams. They're in a month after all. It was late at night, and I was finishing some paper work, when I got hungry. So I headed out to hit up a late night noodle stand cause I didn't want to cook anything. Next thing I know, this guy comes out of the shadows and attacks me. Of course, I defended myself accordingly. But the next thing I knew, I was surrounded by their ANBU. I went peacefully and found out that man was the son of their Village chief." she said, informing her running partner.

" Okay, I guess. So why are they chasing you now?" Shikamaru asked, tossing the kunai behind him and ignoring the loud boom that quickly followed.

" They were going to charge me with assault and attempted murder. I didn't even get my diplomatic rights! I'm the ambassador for gods sake and they were going to hang me for something I didn't do. So I broke out of their custody and ran for it…" she finished, her stride beginning to slow down.

The pair continued until Temari's wounds finally caught up to her, causing her to trip and fall. As Shikamaru turned around, he could see over two dozen of the ANBU closing the gap quickly. It was almost a whole days travel to Konoha, and to his knowledge there were no operatives or anything out here. He'd have even taken his own Genin at this point. Still, there was no choice in the matter, so he had to use one of his aces earlier than he had hoped. Taking a stance in front of Temari, he held his middle and index fingers on each hand together in a cross shape.

" Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he shouted.

With a loud popping sound, followed by puffs of smoke, there were dozens of Shikamaru Shadow Clones. Temari gave a quick count and guessed there to be around fifty as far as she could tell. The ANBU dispersed their formation, readying for an attack. All the Shikamaru's pulled back their arms with the knives and took aim, spreading their fingers slightly to reveal not just one knife in each hand, but in fact three. With a quick step forward, they all tossed the knives with piercing accuracy towards the approaching ANBU groups, as three hundred kunai filled the air.

Most of the ANBU were not directly hit by any of the knives, as even this many knives were easy to dodge for the Black Ops. However, most of them still seemed to fall to their knees, keeling over as wounds opened up across their bodies. Only the most skilled of the ANBU took notice of the cloned Shikamaru's as they held their two fingers up in the air, being clasped over by the other hand, as one would for the Shadow Possession Jutsu. For Temari, it was a throw back to around four months ago, when she attended the Jounin exams in order to see Shikamaru finally get around to it passing it. He was pitted in a similar situation, being alone against a horde of other Shinobi with equal skills.

He had used this same trick. The knives were supposed to be dodged. Or at least, expected to be dodged. It was merely a bonus if they in fact did make contact. No, the real brilliance of this tactic was to use the quickly traveling shadows of the knives along with his ability to manipulate shadows, and double the number of kunai while keeping his projectiles practically invisible. These shadow kunai knives were every bit as lethal, however not easy to track. More so now, since it was dark.

With their numbers quickly dwindled down to a mere few, the ANBU held back and disappeared, taking whomever was still alive from Shikamaru's well played offense. After spending a few minutes scanning the area for any more enemies, he let out a heavy sigh and allowed the shadow clones to disappear. Turning around, he looked behind him at the young woman who was still sprawled out on the ground before him. With only a glance, he could tell she was tired. A simple educated guess was that she's been on the move for days, sleeping very little and eating about as much.

" You're a troublesome woman you know…" he said to her with a slight frown, annoyed at their current station.

" Yeah, well deal…with it…" she said with a tired half grin, finally giving into an exhaustion that had been haunting her for the past day or two.

Her body fell over and went limp. Shikamaru was quick to pick her up and shuffle her around into a position on his back, making it easy for him to carry her.

" …at least your alright Temari…" he spoke softly.

He began down the road at the quickest pace he could, given his newly acquired load and the now pouring rain. Looking up into the sky, he wished it would stop raining long enough for him to smoke a cigarette.

_Well, I can hardly wait to see the Hokage…and boy is she gonna be angry.._

Allowing his thoughts to roam in silence, he continued on homeward.

At his hurried pace, Shikamaru was able to carry Temari to Konoha in a record time of a little over a half day of traveling, maintaining a steady run despite his load and with no interruptions luckily.

He had arrived early in the morning, between the guard changes. Knowing that Temari needed some medical attention, he decided to kill two birds with a single stone. Strolling into the governing building, Shikamaru had arrived even before the Hokage's secretary. Shikamaru knew that the Hokage fairly well, and considering it was now a Saturday morning, she would have probably drunk herself to sleep from the previous night and would still be in the office. Caring not for decorum, he tried to just open the door to her office, still carrying his sleeping load upon his back. However, the doors were locked, and so he simply began to kick the door. After a few good kicks, he waited for any response or answers.

Nothing.

He began to kick the door again, only harder to make it louder. After almost a minute of incessant pounding upon the door, he stopped in order to see if anyone was coming yet. He heard a shout from outside to keep it down, but otherwise, there was no response.

Finally, Shikamaru had it. He knew for a fact that she was in there. So with that knowledge, he kicked the door a few more times, allowing his irritation to drive his words.

" Look here! I thought people your age got up early in the morning! Now open these office doors!" he shouted, almost uncharacteristically.

There was little hesitation in the fist that came flying through from the other end, shattering the door to pieces and impacting into Shikamaru's stomach. It was a strong and sound blow, causing him to keel over. He did, however, manage to hang onto Temari. Looking down on the poor young man now was the fifth Hokage herself, Tsunade .

" Shikamaru, I would normally be pleasantly surprised to see you waking up at a responsible hour for the first time in your life…but the next time you ever remark about my age, I'm going to…" she began to shout before realizing of Temari slumped on his back.

Quickly, she picked up the injured Sand Ninja and laid her out on the rug, placing a hand over Temari's chest and infusing her own chakra into the younger woman in order to speed her recovery and heal her immediate injuries. As Shikamaru finally recovered enough from the impact of her fist, he followed into the office to see Tsunade.

" So tell me what happened Shikamaru…" the older woman asked in a rough manner.

" I was waiting for Temari at the appointed place on the border of the Land of Fire. She was late, and I was bored. After some hours, I noticed her in the distance running with a limp. She was being followed by ANBU from Sound, and I was able to scatter them. Apparently she defended herself against an attack by the son of their village leader, however was mistreated and not even given a proper trial." Shikamaru reported.

" So they decided to lynch her right there huh. Great…Shikamaru…how come every time I have to see you in my office, you have nothing but bad news for me?" she asked with a glare.

" I'm at your service." he snarked.

Placing her index finger and thumb on the upper bridge of her nose, she gave herself a brief massage while she took a few moments to think.

" Alright Shikamaru…go make sure she gets some rest and she'll probably fine by this afternoon…" the older woman stated.

" Fine…whatever. Jeez, even asleep she's troublesome…" Shikamaru complained.

With a sigh, the annoyed look on his face melted the smirk he wore a moment ago. Approaching the prone Temari, he knelt down to lift her up, but was cut off quickly. Just as he slid his hands underneath her body, Temari shot straight up into a seated position, letting loose a powerful sneeze point blank into his face. Immediately he reeled back, taking his sleeve and wiping his face free of saliva and germs.

" And it seems our Ambassador has awakened." Tsunade chimed with a grin.

" Damn it…what the hell was that for? Now I'm going to get sick. I just know it…" he whined.

" Wha…what happened?" Temari asked, glancing around quickly, taking in her surroundings.

" Good to see your up and about. I should be surprised, but then again, you're the stubborn type…right Shikamaru?" the Sannin said, giving him a glance.

His muttering was mostly incoherent, with the exception of the words 'Troublesome, Bothersome, and Pain'. That being said, Temari exhaled the slightly anxious feeling that had built up.

" How are you feeling Temari?" the older blond asked.

" Sore, but it's the best I've felt in days." the younger blond replied.

" You should thank Shikamaru for carrying you all the way back here. And in record time as well." Tsunade smirked, taking in the sight of a light blush trickle over Temari's cheeks before continuing, " Well? What do you say to the big strong man who saved your life and brought you here at great personal risk?" she asked again, the smirk on her lips becoming a coy grin.

Temari glanced over at Shikamaru, who was standing in the corner of the room, listening with a genuinely tired look on his face.

" Thanks…Shikamaru…" she said sheepishly.

" Yeah, it's fine. Just don't do it again…" he replied while looking away, trying to be cool about it, " So, is she good to go? Cause I'm tired and I'd like to get some sleep." he complained in his usual tone.

" I suppose you've earned it today Shikamaru. I want you in here first thing tomorrow morning." Tsunade warned.

" First thing…yeah…gotcha…" he said nonchalantly as he walked out of the office with a wave.

" AND I MEAN MY FIRST THING SHIKAMARU! YOUR FIRST ANYTHING STARTS AFTER ONE IN TE AFTERNOON AND I'M GONNA BE A BUSY HOKAGE TOMORROW!" she shouted after him, driving her point by throwing a paperweight at him.

Temari glanced between the two as Shikamaru left, then let out a soft laugh, realizing that it had been some time since she was here last.

_I seem to always forget that about Konoha…it's so lively…_

" Sorry about that. I wish we could have a better partner for you, however somehow he seems to always be both available and appropriately skilled enough for the jobs…" Tsunade said, tersely.

" It's fine. I've gotten used to him. He's really not so bad…" she said, suddenly catching herself when the expression on Tsunade's face changed unfavorably.

" You know…now that I think about it…you both do have some good chemistry going…" the Sanin stated with that same coy look.

" I…suppose so. It's mostly due to the fact that we're both analytically minded. That's what I believe, at least…" Temari interjected, trying to railroad Tsunade's statement.

" Maybe…" she said, almost darkly.

Temari fidgeted very slightly under the opposing woman's gaze. Staring down Gaara when they came to a disagreement wasn't terribly uncommon for her, so this should have been easy enough. While his eyes could pierce through you and make you feel like your death was preparing to toll, Tsunade's gaze seemed to pierce her very heart, able to guess both her feelings and emotions. That was something she wasn't used to and it worried her slightly. After having her fun, she decided to drop it for now.

" Well then, I think you should go get some rest. I'll have your room readied. I'll also open up a dialogue with the Kazekage and we'll see what we can do about this problem with the Sound. It's been a little over 2 years since the treaty was signed…I thought that maybe we could get that whole mess behind us and focus on the road ahead. Oh well…" Tsunade vented, ever so slightly.

" I do appreciate everything your doing, Tsunade-sama. If you don't mind though, I'd like to take a little walk. It's been a few months since I was last in Konoha, so I thought it may be good for me to take a look around." Temari regarded with a smile.

" I guess so, if that's what you want. Just try to take care of yourself. I'd rather not have you collapse again, especially while in our care. The Kazekage, your brother…I imagine he'd be much harder to deal with than he already can be." the older woman jested.

Temari stood up and began to turn towards the door, but was however halted in her tracks when he saw a worried expression cross Tsunade's face.

" What? What's that look for?" she asked hesitantly.

Tsunade perked a single brow and looked over the standing Sand Ninja. Her uniform was torn and slashed in various places. It's disheveled appearance was astounding, and rather immodest considering her chest was partially exposed, showing almost more cleavage than Tsunade in comparison. The blush that crossed her face caused Tsunade to laugh loudly, then prompted her to stand up and walk into a room in the back of the office.

After a full minute of listening to Tsunade root through what sounded like a closet and some drawers, Temari began to get curious and wandered into the back room, being halted as she approached the door. Tsunade stepped back out with a wardrobe slung over her left arm.

" Here. You can wear this. It might be a little loose in the front, but I think it should fit you pretty well otherwise." Tsunade stated, tossing it to Temari.

" Thank you very much." Temari responded, politely.

" Alright, well you go change in the back room there, then I'm going to have to kick you out. I got important Hokage business to get to."

A few minutes later, Temari was walking out the front doors of the government building, adjusting her borrowed dress.

_Damn it. This thing is way too loose. It's so…_

Before the word came out in her mind, she let out a soft laugh.

_I've been hanging around Shikamaru too much…Speaking of which…I should probably thank him more properly…_

Across town, in an apartment complex towards the western edge of the village, Shikamaru had finally reached his home, plopping down on the couch because it was closer than his bed by a significant enough margin.

_Damn I'm beat. This whole thing with Sound is so troublesome….doesn't help that I'm hungry now…oh well. Think I'll just get some sleep for now, then worry about it later…_

And back again now towards the center of the village, Temari began wandering through the crowds in the market place, doing herself a bit of window shopping. She would spend about an hour or so just browsing around, until her eyes caught a trio of familiar looking Genin stopped at a tea house. The woman paused, staring at the young adolescences from a far, picking her brain to remember who they were.

_Why do those kids over there look so familiar…_

Then suddenly, as if lightning had struck, she plopped a fist into her opposite palm, realizing that they were Shikamaru's Genin. She saw their applications recently when reviewing all the Genin applications. Quickly, she approached, heralding herself with a distinct…

" Hey." she shouted towards the youth.

The three turned to face the blond, their faces marked with surprise and a hint of fear, unsure if they had done something to offend her. Once within conversations reach, she halted and changed her tone.

" You three are Shikamaru's…right?" she asked, just to be clear.

" Yeah. We're team 13. I'm Kasumi, and that's Karin and Kinta." said the youngster with her head band tied securely around her forehead.

The other two stood up and gave her a moment to take in their appearance better.

Kasumi stood shortest of the three. Red hair cut to shoulder length and pressed into a ponytail and gray eyes, which made for an almost striking appearance. Her head band was secured around her forehead and she wore simple shorts and a Konoha shirt underneath a combat vest. Most prominent of her wardrobe was the large utility belt she wore, and the two hip pouches. After that would have been her strange armbands that seem to slink together in an odd manner. They had a dull silver color to them, however didn't really promote much more attention.

Kinta was the only boy in the group. He was second tallest, with a closely shaved head, sporting a head band that was wrapped around much in the way of a turbin, only smaller and more form fitting. It was fastened together with a Kunai knife, which Temari found odd, and decided not to ask why. He wore a short sleeved shirt and shorts underneath a medium sized brown poncho.

Finally, Karin. She was more physically mature than the other two, with some bolder curves and long black hair pulled back into a single braid with amber eyes. She wore a pair of green baggy pant with a gray halter top. She also wore a combat harness, holstering two medium sized fans on her back. To most others, they might just look like Escrima sticks, however Temari knew a fan when she saw one. Aside from that, she appeared to have all the standard pouches and attachments one would have to be a Genin on her combat harness.

Well…they were definitely a motley crew, that was for sure. But then again, Konoha squads always tended that way, and always had a way of surprising.

" I see. Kasumi, Kinta, and Karin. Do you mind if I sit with you?" Temari asked politely.

" Sure!" said Karin with a wide grin.

" You're the Suna ambassador, Temari-sama right? What would you want with some lowly Genin like us?" Kasumi asked with prying eyes.

_Yeah…she's one of that Pineapple Head's students…_

" Well, I've known your Sensei for quite some time, but I guess I've never really met you three yet." she answered.

" It's probably because he says we're troublesome. Or that meeting you would be troublesome, or that the whole thing would be troublesome…I don't know…it's kind of hard to tell with him." Kinta said, glancing from each of the different girls.

" Yeah. That sounds like your Sensei…" Temari sighed, almost embarrassed for him.

" But…Shikamaru-sensei is really cool. I mean…he really looks out for us. He's been training us really hard for the upcoming exams." Karin stated enthusiastically.

Temari's eyes fell on the younger girl, using her analytical skills to deduce the girls thoughts and feelings. With a slight blush splashed over her face, and the willingness to almost immediately object to any negative comments about Shikamaru, the thought crossed Temari's mind that Karin would in fact have some kind of crush on him. A faint flush feeling came to her as she thought about the whole situation, and the decision came quickly to derail that train of thought, before she would be embarrassed openly.

" Maybe. So what are you three doing here anyways? No missions?" Temari asked in a nonchalant tone.

" We don't have any missions today since Shikamaru-sensei is out on an escort mission." Kasumi answered.

_They must not know that he's back…_

" He tells you about his missions?" the woman asked in an alarmed manner.

" He never gives details, only the gist of it. We know he's not allowed to give any mission specifics, so there's nothing to worry about." Kasumi clarified.

" I thought so. His big pineapple shaped head isn't for nothing at least…" Temari jibbed while across town, Shikamaru sneezes in his sleep.

" You know, you're kind of strange. You seem like your good friends with him, but then you're quick to criticize him. Doesn't make any sense to me…" Kasumi continued, her analysis of Temari not being too off the mark.

_Yeah…this brat is definitely one of his…_

" We go back a ways I suppose…" Temari started to say, trying to think of something convenient to detract from the conversation.

" Back to the Chunin Exams almost 5 years ago. You beat him because he forfeited the match at the end so as not to exhaust his chakra…" Kasumi explained.

" You've done your homework I see…" Temari commented dryly.

" I'm the smart one." the younger girl retorted.

_She's like a younger sister. Has that same damn frown he did when he was her age._

" Anyhow, I noticed that you're all applying for the Chunin Exam. You Sensei is typically a proctor in this, however because of the possibility of mixed interests, he'll be barred from that duty this time around." stated Temari in a more impassionate tone.

" What? B…but…I wanted Shikamaru Sensei to watch over us. I mean…what if something happens? I hear that Genin are killed…" whined Kinta.

" I'm sure he'll be watching on the sidelines. There's been multiple occasions where the fight was stopped because someone's Sensei got involved in order to save a life. The proctors are also there for that purpose. We really don't get much of a kick out of watching Genin get killed after all." the blond Jounin explained with a half smile.

" I think we'll have a better chance than a lot of the others. We've been together for almost two years, since we were ten. We've had a lot of time to get used to each other and work as a team." Karin interjected.

" Is that why Shikamaru held you guys back like that for so long?" Temari asked, slightly puzzled.

" Probably. To make sure we'll be ready, even if he isn't there to save our lives. I know the second test is a survival test…so he won't have any jurisdiction then." Kasumi answered to the best of her knowledge.

" Makes sense. I would be lying if I said I was confident that my Genin could pass the exams. Your Sensei's been through a lot in his life already. He's practically seen it all it seems. He was even there when the Feudal Lord for the Land of Fire was…" Temari started to say, getting careless before she shut herself up.

" Wait. You mean that Shikamaru-sensei was there when the Feudal Lord was murdered last year?" questioned Kasumi, her interest now peaked.

" Oh…no no no. You didn't let me finish…." Temari said quickly, doing what she could to recover. " He was there at the inauguration of the new and current one. But he knows all about the assassination of the Feudal Lord, so he's lived through it, so to speak."

" Ohhh…" said Kinta and Karin in unison.

The tall blond grinned sheepishly, seeing that she had convinced two out of three. However Kasumi still stood there with that frown. It began to really bother her.

…_So irritating. It's just like him back when he was a kid. It makes me want to smack her…_

" But I heard a rumor that the assassin was from Konoha…" Kasumi said, her eyes more fixated on Temari, " Coincides well with the fact that Uzumaki Naruto left Konoha just after that, and is wanted in the Bingo Book for the crime of high treason. No other information is available about it." Kasumi guessed with frightening accuracy, " Seems awful if fishy you ask me."

" I don't personally know much about that. I wasn't there after all, but I did know Naruto fairly well. I have a hard time believing something that farfetched. Though I cannot imagine what he did do to get those charges. He always seemed like he loved Konoha. He told everyone how he was going to be the Hokage one day. Seems kind of a shame now." Temari finished, with a hint of depression in her voice.

Kasumi watched the older woman's face and hung on every word she said. Though she believed Temari was being truthful for the most part, she still had her hunches and suspicions. Finally, after a couple of moments of awkward silence, Temari stood up and gave a smile.

" I should probably get going. First thing though…do you know where your Sensei lives? I've got some mail to deliver from the Hokage. I know that after he became a Jounin, he got his own apartment, but I don't know where it is." she asked.

" Shikamaru Sensei lives in that apartment complex cattycorner to the Academy building. He wanted a place that was close by to where he was usually working. Unfortunately he got stuck with a room on the top floor instead of the bottom floor like he requested. It's on the right side, furthest down the hallway." Karin answered quick and stately.

Temari nodded and began to walk off, waving to them as she left.

" It was nice meeting you." she called.

The three gathered close and discussed the encounter.

" What do you think of her?" Karin said.

" I think she's pretty. Sensei's a lucky guy to get to hang out with her whenever she's in town…" Kinta said with a rosy grin.

" She's close to Shikamaru Sensei. I can tell because of how she talks about him, and how she knows a lot of things that only he knows." Kasumi said, " Still, I also like her. She's pretty honest."

" Well…sure she's pretty…but I think she's kind of mean about Sensei." Karin said, almost protesting

" That's just cause you got the hots for Shikamaru-sensei!" Kinta teased.

" What? S…Shut up Kinta!" Karin said, reaching for a fan.

Kinta dodged to the side as she took a single swing, however realized that her other fan had been drawn as well. Preparing for the pain of a well placed blow to the noggin, he shut his eyes and tightened his neck muscles. A moment later and the blow never came, thanks to a couple of wires restraining the fan. Kinta sighed and bowed his head to Kasumi.

" Thanks." he said with a smile.

" Don't thank me yet…" Kasumi said, watching Karin let go of the fan and give Kinta a thump on the head with her fist before getting up and stomping away, " I just don't want to have to drag you back home and explain it to your parents again…"

Back now towards the center of town, at an apartment building cattycorner to the Academy, Temari climbed the almost numberless amounts of stairs while carrying a bag of groceries she had bought along the way.

" Stupid elevator. Just had to be out…" she grumbled until that last faithful step came and she was on the top floor. Taking a right, she went all the way back until she found the last room on the right side. Giving a light knock, she waited patiently for a few moments to see if he would answer. Again she knocked, with little success. Slightly perturbed, she gave a loud knock on the door, rattling the door frame and causing a neighbor to poke his head out of his room to see what the ruckus was.

Again, no answer.

" Lazy good for nothing pineapple headed crybaby…" she muttered as she slipped her hand up into her hair, taking a pin out in order to use it to pick the lock.

As she tended the dead bolt of the door, she accidentally turned the knob early, and the door opened.

" Too troublesome to lock the door I see…" she commented to herself quietly.

Standing up, she wandered in and started inspecting . While the apartment wasn't filthy, it was also was not clean. Clothes were scattered about the floor, furniture was oddly placed and none of the chairs were pushed in at all. The dishes were piled up in the sink and there were two packages of paper plates opened up on the counter in the kitchen.

" God…he is a man alright…" she quipped silently.

She set the bag of groceries down on a cleared area of the table before wandering further in and down the hall. An empty bedroom on the left, a bathroom on the second left, and his own personal bedroom on the right. Poking her head in, she didn't see a sign of him in bed. As she was about to leave, she noticed on his dresser, a row of pictures stood up in a row. Curious, she pressed further into his room in order to get a better look at them.

They were pictures of the people in his life. On the left, there was a picture of a man and woman. She had never formally met his father, however had seen him on a number of occasions. Their appearances were uncanny. Standing next to his father in the photograph was the woman Temari believed to be his mother.

_She doesn't look that bad. He's probably just overreacting…_

Shrugging, she continued, seeing a picture of Ino, himself, and Choji, both from when they were first placed together to only a year or so ago.

_His teammates. They sure have grown a lot, but I guess we all have…_

The third picture was of his Genin. She scowled slightly, matching a similar expression worn by Shikamaru in the picture. Kasumi wore a similar face while Karin and Kinta both had big smiles.

_God, it's uncanny. It's starting to freak me out…_

The fourth picture on the lineup was large and carried multiple frames. In the first, was his Sensei, Asuma. It was the photograph from his funeral, still adorned with the black ribbons and had a candle that was almost completely burnt out in front of it. The second photograph was of his daughter, Asami, whom Temari felt a touch of grief for, knowing she'll never know her father. The final picture was a very rare photograph of both Kuranai and Asuma. Shot from behind them slightly, they were caught off guard holding hands. Their faces were washed with blush and surprise.

_If the baby didn't prove that romance, I suppose this does…_

Finally, she turned her head to see the last of the line up of pictures, and was completely taken by surprise by it. It was of her. Well, it was the two of them, shot from the waist up. It took no time at all for her to realize that it was from a few months ago, at the Jounin Exams. His arm was wrapped over her shoulders for support, almost completely exhausted from the encounter. The smile she gave was big and bright while he gave a tired yet triumphant grin as he kept one eye shut from an injury he received during the ordeal.

Despite how cheesy they may have looked, he was happy to have passed and she was happy for him.

Passing this exam was an accomplishment for any ninja, as it had a very low success rate. This time around in particular, especially as Shikamaru found himself betrayed by both luck and his temporary teammates. And despite all the setbacks and injuries he faced, he still came out on top, and was only one of two Chunin promoted by the end of the exam.

She stared at it for a while longer, and started to wonder why he had this one sitting on his bedroom dresser. Surely, it must have been because this was the moment he became a Jounin. It was, after all, a big accomplishment. However there were no signs of any of his other achievements. Not a single picture from his assignment as a Chunin, not even any one of the scrolls they hand you for passing an exam were present. There was also the fact that all these pictures were of the people closest to Shikamaru. His family, his friends, his teammates, his Genin, his Sensei…and…herself.

A soft smirk crossed her face as she held the photo up. A suspicion happily fell over her, causing a warmth to grow in her chest.

_I won't let you get away with this one, Shikamaru._

After taking a last and longing look at the photograph, she set it back down on the dresser and left the bed room. Halfway down the hall, she heard a thump, and discovered Shikamaru's whereabouts. He was now lying on the floor still fully clothed, clutching his pillow tightly as if his life depended on it, like a life preserver in an ocean of dreams. The scenario played out in her head of him wandering into his apartment after such a long and exhausting night, and not bothering to strip down or trying to make it to his bed. The couch would simply have to do. Anything else would be too troublesome. She grabbed the blanket that was scattered over the couch and covered him up with it so he wouldn't risk getting cold.

Temari now turned away, heading to the kitchen and dug out a couple of the groceries she had picked up. Taking little time at all, she put on an apron, then located a stash of pots and pans underneath the sink.

_They look brand new…too lazy to even cook for himself...  
_

With a sigh, she began to boil water and started cutting up vegetables. She would never go as far as to call herself an culinary genius, however she did know a few traditional dishes from her native Sunagakure. Since he had saved her life and carried her all the way back to Konoha on his back, he'd probably be hungry when he woke up. So the least she could do was make him a little something in thanks so that he wouldn't starve.

About a half an hour after she had began cooking, there was a knock at the door. Unsure of what to do, she turned towards where Shikamaru was laying to see if there would be any reaction at all. As she thought, he didn't even flinch. She shrugged it off and ignored subsequent knocks. Suddenly, after a moment of silence, she heard a shrill voice fill the air.

" SHIKAMARU! I KNOW YOUR IN THERE! YOU OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW YOUNG MAN!"

It was obviously feminine, and terrifyingly matronly. Taking another glance to see what Shikamaru was going to do, she discovered that he was still blissfully unaware of the angry harping from this mystery woman. Deciding again to ignore it, she continued with her cooking, until the door burst open and an older woman invaded into the home. Caught by surprise, Temari grabbed a nearby knife and held it like a Kunai since she was not carrying her fan. Immediately the two women locked gazes, and Temari recognized her from the picture in his bedroom.

_So that's his mother…_

" W…Who are you? What are you doing in my sons apartment?" she asked in some shock.

" I assume your Shikamaru's mother?" Temari guessed.

The woman narrowed her eyes at Temari.

" You speak of my son as if you were close to him. If I had known he moved out of the house just so he could shack up with some jezebel, I'd have more than been vocal about my disapproval."

" Wha…What did you just say to me?" Temari said, her voice reflecting a very restrained rage.

" You heard me. What in the world do you think you're doing here?" Yoshino stated.

Temari's face began to turn a volatile shade of red. She could feel her body begin to quake as she restrained the urge to slap this woman for the transgressions she had just leveled against her. The blond Sand Ninja took a very deep breath in an attempt to calm down, before she lost her temper and would try to murder this woman.

" Look, we seem to be at a misunderstanding. I'm the ambassador from Suna, Temari. Sabaku no Temari if you've heard of me. My younger brother is the Kazekage, and…" Temari tried to explain in a calm demeanor before getting cut off by Yoshino.

" Look, whoever you think you are. I'm not buying it. If you were the Suna Ambassador then you wouldn't be here in my son's apartment. You'd be doing your job in the embassy building like a responsible adult. Now I'm going to count to three, and if you aren't gone, I'm going to toss you out…" the older woman threatened.

Temari felt her eyebrow twitch. Her whole body shook with disdain for this woman. From her condescending tone to how she was being lectured on responsibility…she now knew why Shikamaru had such an awkwardly negative opinion about women.

" One."

" Look…you want to talk about being reasonable…then let's talk about this…" Temari choked out, still restraining herself heavily.

" Two…"

" I think your about to make a big mistake…" Temari spoke again, now in a threatening manner.

" THREE!" Yoshino shouted, very loudly.

Elsewhere…

Clouds passed lazily by as a young spiky haired Jounin sat underneath a beautiful blue sky, lazily staring up at the floating white forms of cotton. The sunlight basked warm against his skin and a gentle breeze cooled itself up against his cheek. It was always nice to get a little time to relax and get away from his duties in the village. Being an Academy Instructor, working in the Cryptology Department part time, and being the squad leader of a trio of trouble makers as well as an ambassadors escort didn't give him a lot of time to enjoy one of his few simple pleasures in life.

He closed his eyes and basked in the fulfillment it brought him. He loved times like this, because it helped him clear his mind, which was constantly burdened by dozens of thoughts all at once. Being a genius did have its downfalls after all, however he had gotten used to them and found ways to deal with the ones he could not outright get around.

However, this wonderful moment was destined to not last, as the sound of thunder roared in the distance. Shikamaru ignored it at the beginning, hoping that it'll stay far away and leave him in peace. However, he would be roused from his place of resting as the wind picked up, and the storm grew more powerful. With the wind howling now, he decided not to wait for the rain, and got up to seek shelter. As he searched for sanctuary, he couldn't help but gawk in awe as the thunder continued to roll and roar. He began to grow fearful as it didn't let up, almost sounding like there would be no end to it.

It would eventually disturb him so much, that he could no longer find any comfort in his sleep, causing him to awaken.

He heard a pounding on the walls and a the sound of a woman groan. His expression sank when he came up with his deduction. He turned to the wall of his only neighbor and pounded his fist against it.

" I know you two got married recently, but that was months ago! Knock it off and let a guy sleep!" he shouted, hoping to quell the sound of his newly wed neighbors mating habits.

However, as his sleepiness wore off, he realized that the thumping and bumping and other troubling noises were in fact coming from the kitchen area of his apartment.

" What the hell is going on…" he said, turning the corner into the kitchen to see what was occurring in his apartment.

His expression changed quickly from irritation to panic, as he saw the two scariest and most troublesome women of his life, grappling one another in some sort of power struggle. The two stopped for just a second and angrily stared at him, one of each of their hands clutching at the others face.

" SHIKAMARU!" the shouted at him in unison.

With wide eyes, he struggled to spit out something to say.

" N…N…Nightmare…"


	2. A Slice of Life

The L Boogie- So first, off…yeah that last chapter…it was a long one. Not that this one isn't…but it's shorter by at least 2 pages! Thanks for the review Picture, and yeah…I named them all like that because it would be troublesome. I think it's a good fit for Shikamaru. Anyhow, this chapter should provide a bit more back story. I will be taking some liberties, considering that Shippuden isn't even finished, but hey, that's why it's fan fiction. If you find any major discrepancies, let me know…I'll do my best to fix them. Until then, enjoy.

Legal Jargon- I don't own Naruto. The world, the characters, the…well…everything. Except for the Author Created stuff. So don't try to sue me, cause you can't get blood from stone.

The Darkhorse: A Naruto Fan Fiction

A Slice of Life

Leaping from roof top to roof top, the dark haired young man had barely made his getaway. In his own mind, his thoughts were spinning and confused, wrapping around well over a hundred different possibilities and out comes as to what had occurred. Seeing his own mother and Temari locked in some kind of combat in his kitchen was more than enough stress he would ever need in his entire life.

He was never one to resort to using tools or jutsu's to get out of a situation that was neither dangerous or required so by a mission, however he was thankful that he was still wearing his utility pouch that had the smoke bombs. There would be consequences later, however he figured he'd be able to handle it his own way if he could get a little space and time to think. After breezing through the village, a familiar figure caught his eye dining at the Ichiraku. He dropped to the streets below and entered under the tarp, sitting next to the tall young man with the long, fiery orange coat.

" Your being reckless as usual. You are aware that it's the middle of the afternoon and the sun is still high in the sky. If anyone see's you, you'll be in some serious trouble, Naruto…" Shikamaru stated with a sarcastic tone.

Naruto finished up his mouthful of noodles and wiped his mouth before turning to Shikamaru.

" Oh, you know me. Can't stay too far away from trouble. Of course, neither can you, but that's only because you find everything troubling." Naruto retorted with his trademark grin.

It had been almost a year since Shikamaru had actually gotten a chance to sit down with Naruto and chat. True, he did see him from time to time passing by in the village, however the chance to sit down with him was rare, due to Naruto's listing in the bingo book. Since Jiraiya's passing, Naruto had grown up quite a bit, and now was every bit the man his mentor was.

His blond hair had only gotten a bit longer and spiked out a little bit more. He still wore his leaf headband despite being considered a rogue ninja. Naruto's choice of clothed seemed to differ greatly too, as he traded his orange jumpsuit for an orange sleeveless long coat with black flames licking up the trim, a long sleeve black shirt with green prayer beads tied at the left elbow, and a pair of light grey pants that were of standard cut for a shinobi. In all, his style changed some, but the look was familiar.

" I don't think I need to ask what brings you here. I take it Sakura couldn't get away from her duties?" the dark haired ninja asked, taking a seat.

" Pretty much. So I dropped in on her at the hospital. This whole long distance relationship is tough business." Naruto complained.

" It's a shame your wanted. We could use some more man power around here. Haven't been many Jounin promotions in the last few years. I'm the most recent, but besides me from the 12 of us, it's just Neji, Tenten, Kiba, Shino, and Sakura. You and Sasuke could easily do it if they'd let you guys back in the village…and Choji could if he'd just get over that self confidence thing. Some days, I feel like I may be the only one who even has a clue as to what he can really do. Even more than himself, sad as it is." said Shikamaru, his voice reflecting a tone of annoyance.

" It can't be helped I guess. I did supposedly murder the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire. The bureaucrats here are a little sour about that whole thing. I guess I don't blame them. We couldn't really prove that it was Orochimaru…or Kabuto…or whichever…impersonating him, kinda like how he did the Kazekage 5 years ago. But, it's either this, or he was gonna use his position in order to bury Konohagakure for good." the blond reasoned.

" It's sad. You've done so much for this village and no one recognizes you for it. If you weren't considered rogue, you would probably be the Hokage…That was your dream, right?" Shikamaru mused, lighting a cigarette.

" Naa. I mean sure, when I was younger. But when I fought alongside Sasuke that last time, it dawned on me that I wanted to be Hokage for the wrong reason. The Hokage shouldn't care about being accepted by the village, and to use the position for such ridiculous thing. All I want to do is protect the Village…and I don't have to be Hokage to do that." he spoke with a wisdom enough to floor even Shikamaru.

" You really have gotten a lot stronger. Oh well…I guess it means more work for me, and I've already got my hands full. Teaching at the Academy, working in Cryptology, training my Genin…now I'm doing the whole guide thing again for Temari, who was in my apartment for some reason fighting my mother. Not something a guy wants to wake up to." whined the dark haired Jounin.

" Oh? So you and Temari are already in that type of relationship huh? How'd you talk her into moving in, you sly dog…" teased Naruto with a big grin.

A light blush hit Shikamaru's cheeks, which he tried to stifle with a bit of anger.

" What are you going on about? There's nothing between me and Temari. We're just friends." he spat.

" Yeah right. More like this you mean..." Naruto teased again, holding out his pinky with a smirk, " You keep saying that, but I know better."

" …Troublesome…" Shikamaru quipped, glancing away as Naruto grinned in some kind of victory, " So how is Sasuke?

" Doing a lot better. As you know, we fought Orochimaru in the palace of the Land of Fire. Once the guards had been dispatched, it was two on one, and it truly took everything we had to put him down for good this time. As you could imagine, taking a direct hit from his Chidori, as well as my Rasengan at the same time seemed to be the only way to be sure that we'd have him. Unfortunately, Sasuke had already exhausted his chakra, so he had to force the technique. Luckily, he was able to pull it off, but the damage it caused him was severe. You remember all that time afterwards that Sakura took off last year, right?" Naruto explained.

" Yeah. I figured she was going to see you. I think her excuse for leaving was for some kind of missionary deal in order to hone her technique. So I guess it wasn't a complete lie, was it?" said Shikamaru.

" Because of her, Sasuke survived. Though he's gone through so much. He lost the use of his right arm. In fact, after he used Chidori, it was barely attached. Sakura had to amputate it on the spot. Since then, he used to have troubles walking or even standing. Even suffered from extreme bouts of vertigo, but as time has passed, it's been worked down to headaches, migraines, and sudden bouts of chakra shortages…but at least he's alive." the blond explained, taking a sudden glance around.

Seeing Naruto's eyes shift quickly, Shikamaru hid his glances about, detecting the presence of ANBU in the area. His eyes met Naruto's briefly, and he nodded to his old friend.

" Looks like they're on to you. How long have you been in town?" asked Shikamaru, devising a plan to get Naruto out without risking his own hide too much.

" About three days. Been staying at Sakura's, but it's kinda sucked that I couldn't leave her apartment. I mean, if I didn't want detected, then the ANBU wouldn't find me, but I don't wanna work that hard, or force her to either. But it was my time to leave anyhow. She's working the next four or five days straight at the hospital, and they're gonna be long shirfts…so it's not like we'd get any time together. Anyhow…I guess I better get running. Last time, it was Kakashi-sensei who caught up to me. We'll see who it is this time." answered Naruto with a wide grin.

" You sure you don't want help?" Shikamaru offered, despite his belief on it being troublesome.

" I'll be fine. You should go spend some time with Temari since she's in town. After the exams, you know it'll be another 4 or 5 months until you'll see her afterwards." said the rogue ninja, stepping out from under the tarp of the noodle shop, " See ya around, Shikamaru!"

Before the flap from the tarp shut, Shikamaru made a few quick hand signs, channeling his chakra and taking a deep drag on his cigarette. With the last sign, he exhaled a massive amount of smoke, enough to cover the whole stand, the street, and sidewalk in a thick smoke.

" There's yourself a head start Naruto. Why don't you stop by my place next time your in town. We'll have a drink…" the shadow ninja jested slightly.

Naruto shot him a wide grin of approval before the smoke completely concealed his form, even from Shikamaru's well trained eyes. Deciding not to stick around for any possible questioning by the authorities, he made himself scarce as well, trekking back to his apartment in search of sanctuary. Firstly, his head poked into the window on the western edge of his living room, taking an upside down peek to see if it was safe.

Sure enough, there was no sign of it being occupied. In fact, there didn't appear to be any signs of a struggle. Creeping inside, he tip toed around and confirmed that there was no one inside. After fully sweeping the apartment, he came back to the odd package wrapped in tin foil that was sitting on his table. He unfolded the note attached while unwrapping the foil, exposing the plate of food.

_Crybaby,_

_As I should have expected, you ran away with your tail between your legs. I suppose I can't blame you…that mother of yours is…troublesome, to coin the phrase. Anyhow, your father showed up rather quickly after you ran off and took your mother with him. Originally I had came by to make you something to eat, to thank you for coming to my rescue and carrying me back. I really do appreciate it, and if you have time later, stop by and see me at the embassy. We can catch up a bit over some tea and Shogi. _

_Temari _

A smirk formed over his lips as he read the letter.

" Classic Temari. Nothing can be simple, even a letter of thanks." he said to himself, aloud.

Taking a look down, he saw a large noodle dish sitting before him, made with strips of braised meat and seared vegetables. Surprisingly enough, it smelled very good, and his stomach growled loudly at the prospect. Grabbing a drink from his refrigerator, he sat down and began eating and was shocked to discover that the meal was actually very good. He continued through the meal until a boiled egg appeared in the midst of his noodles, causing him to stop and stare at the dish.

_I hate boiled eggs…and somehow…I get this feeling that she knows this…_

He grumbled a moment to himself, holding his nose with one hand and taking the egg up with his other, swallowing it quickly to avoid having to taste it. Downing a portion of his drink to kill the remaining flavor, he finally continued through the dish until it was completely empty.

" Not half bad Temari…" he spoke quietly.

With a sigh, he stood up and took a look out the window. The sky was a crystal blue and had only a light cloud cover, just the way he liked it. Deciding not to stick around his dreary apartment, he leapt from building to building until he found a nice meadow out by the training grounds. It was slightly hilly and the grass was nice and crisp, sporting a deep green color. Sure enough, this was his favorite spot to cloud watch on a day like this.

Hours would pass as he stared up at the sky. It felt like weeks since he had such a lovely view hanging directly over his head. It allowed him to fully clear his head and push aside all other thoughts, which would otherwise be impossible considering how quickly his brain worked. The sun was finally beginning to fall into the western sky, alerting Shikamaru to the time. Still though, he wanted to stay put and watch it fully set before he would pay a visit to the embassy. Half an hour before the sun was preparing to set, a lone figure stood behind him, sauntering up in a lazy manner.

" Shikamaru…" the older man called out.

" What is it dad? No offense, but I'm kinda busy…" the younger Nara stated.

" You should be more respectful to your old man, boy." Shikaku spout, slightly frustrated.

" Sorry. It's just the first opportunity I've had in a few weeks to do some cloud watching. So what's up?" Shikamaru asked.

" I'm just checking up on you. I had to intervene in a scuffle between your mother and that woman of yours. It was pretty ugly, and they forced me to use my Shadow Possession Jutsu on the both of them in order to get them to stop fighting. Talking them down was getting me nowhere, and even after I had them both bound, they still didn't seem to want to listen. But after a couple of minutes apart, Temari seemed more likely not to try anything if I released her, so I did. I began to walk your mother out of the apartment, but they just had to exchange a few more words before I could get her out of there…" Shikaku explained.

" Jeez. They both have to be so damn troublesome. It was probably the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life…and I've seen too much as it is, if you ask me." whined the son.

" Hmm…you may be right. That woman of yours is just as stubborn as your mother…" mused the father, looking up towards the sky, " Do you know what your mother said about her, once I finally got her home?"

Shikamaru turned to his father, hearing that comment for the second time in their conversation.

" Hey. What's this whole 'Your woman' thing?" Shikamaru asked, pointedly.

" Isn't it true though? I mean…everyone in town has been talking about it for as long as I can recall…" recalled the elder Nara, closing his eyes in an effort to better recall the statement.

" No. No no no. She possesses no qualities I find attractive in a woman. She's bossy, she's mean, she way too rough…" Shikamaru spout, quickly flustered by his fathers comments.

Shikaku let out a powerful laugh, kneeling down next to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder.

" It's the curse of the Nara men, Shikamaru. You say that about her…but is that really what you think?" he asked.

Shikamaru didn't answer, turning around and refocusing his eyes back up towards the sky. Shikaku gave a half smile, looking down over his son, then turned to walk off.

" You should stop by the house and see your mother and I a little more often. She worries about you, you know? Anyhow, I guess I'll leave you be."

" Wait a second…what did Mom say about Temari?" Shikamaru asked, the thought nagging him somewhere in the back of his mind.

" You really want to know?" Shikaku said wryly, turning around just enough to look his son in the eyes.

" Yeah, I do." he answered.

" She said she had never met another woman other than Tsunade-sama, who could look her straight in the eyes while she was angry…" answered the elder Nara with a smirk.

" So what's that supposed the mean?" asked the son.

" I think it means she approves. Afterwards she said you better bring her by for dinner some time before she leaves." finished Shikaku, prompting him to turn around and walk off.

Shikamaru growled low, before hopping off the ground turning towards his retreating father.

" I SAID THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON! WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK THAT?" he shouted in aggravation.

As he watched his father walk off, he turned and looked up at the sun. It had just set and was hiding beneath the horizon now.

_There isn't something going on…is there?_

Taking a few more minutes to be self introspective into the nature of the relationship between himself and the Suna ambassador, he came to the decision that he just wasn't sure and that he didn't feel like dealing with it right then and there.

" Either way…I suppose I should stop by and see her. In the very least, it'll be a good game of Shogi." he said to himself.

Fortunately, the embassy building was on this side of town, so the walk there was short. As he entered through the main entrance, he was stopped by the guards and given a routine inspection. This was standard procedure when there was a VIP staying, and with Temari being the Kazekage's sister and ambassador from Suna, she definitely qualified. As usual, he was forced to leave any of his tools in the main room before heading upstairs to the living quarters.

He proceeded up through the elevator, not wanting to bother to take the stairs. Either way, the elevator at his apartment complex never worked, so it would be a luxury he didn't want to miss out on. Coming out on the fifth floor, Shikamaru turned to the right and walked down the hall until he reached the door to the room Temari had used for the past two years. Of course…calling it a room was quite the understatement. It was, in fact, much larger than Shikamaru apartment by at least three times. Stepping up to the heavy wooden door, he pulled his fist back and knocked three times, with little enthusiasm.

A brief moment later, he heard the sound of the latch and the door opened inward, revealing a freshly showed Temari standing in a long bathrobe. He felt a blush come over him at the sudden thought of her in the shower, as a visualization came to mind soon after. In defense, he slapped his hand against his forehead and rubbed it along his brow and cheek to hide his blush. Temari perked a single brow with a slight grin before stepping aside to let him in.

" About time you lazy man. Here I thought you weren't gonna come, so I was just getting ready to settle in for the evening." she teased.

" Were you planning on dragging me all over town or something?" he asked dryly.

" Please, I wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea about us…" she shot back with a smirk.

" Too late I suppose…" Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

" What was that?" Temari asked, taking a step closer.

Her hair was still wet and hung down. It was a rarity for him to see her like this. He couldn't remember the last time he saw her with her hair down, but he didn't mind it. Really, he didn't mind anything about her looks, however it did bother him that she was getting a little too close while still wearing that bath robe. By the way it was draped over her, he surmised that she wasn't wearing much of anything underneath it…and that wasn't helping him one bit. As she brought her face closer to his waiting to hear what he muttered, he took a defensive step back and turned around completely.

" I said I suppose…" he answered flatly, not really doing a good job of hiding his mixed feelings.

She shrugged it off, deciding not to pursue the matter any longer.

" Why don't you go sit down in the living room and I'll be out in a few minutes." she called out, heading towards her bed room.

With a nonchalant " Yeah.", Shikamaru sat down on the sofa and relaxed. Letting his thoughts flow as they always did.

_Damn, this must be some kind of set up. She just had to be wearing a bath robe. Only a damn bathrobe. This is so troublesome…_

He took a moment to inspect himself while he was laying across the couch.

_And I haven't even taken a shower yet. It's been like two days…I've worn these clothes for about as long. I probably should have taken care of all that when I got home this morning…but I was just too tired. Carrying Temari on my back and running the whole way from the border was exhausting…_

He was fairly wrapped up in a mix of introspection, criticism, and recollection that he failed to notice Temari had entered the room. She wore a simple black sleeveless T-shirt with a gray pair of pajama bottoms. To his surprise, she had her hair pulled back into a single ponytail, instead of into the four ties he had been used to.

" Hey…you alright?" she asked, holding a small box.

" Oh…yeah. Sorry, I'm just realizing that I haven't showered or anything yet. Sorry." he apologized, however felt like an idiot for just admitting it.

" I'd say go ahead and use mine…but I don't have any clothes here for you to wear. I did buy a shirt for Kankuro, but I think he wears a larger size than you. Either way, I don't think he'd appreciate you wearing it before him…even if you two are friends." she answered thoroughly.

" Yeah, I wouldn't want to hear him whine about it. So what's in the box?" he asked.

" My Shogi set. I brought it out from Suna on my last visit cause the one provided by the embassy is old and you can't tell what half the pieces are anymore." Temari stated, handing it to him.

He opened it up and peeked around inside, examining the pieces and the board. They were well made with excellent workmanship in the details of the wood carving.

" It's nice. You sure you want to bring something like this all the way out here? Hell, this isn't really your room. Some stranger could occupy it at some point in time and lose the pieces." reasoned the shadow ninja.

" True. Maybe I'll take it back home with me when the exams are over. I have some tea ready, so how about you get the board set up while I grab the drinks." she said.

He gave a nod in approval and she headed off towards the kitchen. Shikamaru slid the Shogi board out of the box and out onto the table. Assembling the pieces quickly, he sat back awaiting his friend and opponent. Thankfully for him, he wouldn't have to wait long, as Temari stepped into view quickly, holding a pair of tea glasses, and set them down on the table.

" Let's see…what's the record so far?" she asked teasingly.

" You're really proud of your seventeen losses, aren't you?" he jibbed.

" Seventeen losses and…" Temari alluded with a grin.

" And one win." he stated dryly.

" Hey, I can't beat you if I don't play you…" her voice slightly annoyed.

" Alright…so I won last time…you go first." he spoke.

The first couple of moves went on in silence as Shikamaru watched the way she moved. Her typical habit was to move up three pawns to shield her rooks so they could advance. The simple way around this was to cut her off with a few well placed pawns.

" So, I've heard you're Genin will be participating in the Chunin Exam as well? Guess we both get out of proctor duty this year. Thank god. Makes me want to keep them Genin for the rest of my life…" he joked.

" Are you still sore about two years ago? That wasn't that bad…." she shot back.

" Wasn't that bad? Are you kidding? I almost lost my arm! That idiot kid thought it'd be alright to just wing those paper bombs attached to Kunai all over the place. I was lucky to have saved that girls life." argued the shadow ninja.

" Oh, boohoo you big cry baby." mocked the blond.

He had been leisurely moving his pieces around, forming a block defense while positioning his Knights and Bishops. This wasn't his favorite way to play the game, however he wasn't terribly focused on it, so he just did it as a quick and easy defense. Of course, having been partnered with him so many times over the years, Temari had a fairly intimate knowledge of Shikamaru's body language and moods.

" What's wrong?" she asked bluntly.

" Nothing, why?" he answered.

" Because you're not even playing. So come on, spill it."

He sighed and took a look up towards the ceiling. He reached for a cigarette, but was stopped in mid stride.

" No way. Not in here." she warned.

" Troublesome…" he said, sighing.

A smile touched her face at the sound of him being more honest. She motioned for him to follow her out to the balcony, and so the pair stepped outside. As he lit up, she pressed onwards with the conversation.

" So what's wrong, Pineapple Head? Is you brain swelling so big that it can't fit inside that gigantic skull of yours?" she joked.

" Jeez, why do you have to be so mean?" he said with a smirk, " Look, nothing's wrong, I'm just a little bothered by this whole thing with you and Otagakure. Especially with the exams coming up…it's just a lot of trouble. And to make matters worse, my dad interrupted me earlier while I was watching the clouds. First chance I've had in weeks and it's practically ruined. I probably won't get another chance for another month at this rate…" he whined.

Listening with a frown, she took inventory of everything he said. Watching him smoke, she felt a dull pain in her chest, knowing full well he wasn't telling the entire truth.

_He only smokes when something is bothering him._

" I'll let you go with that for now. But don't think that you will get away with it." she said.

With a smile he turned to her and put out his cigarette.

" Thanks Temari. I appreciate it." he spoke evenly.

Heading back inside, they took their seats back on the couches and continued the game, picking up at her turn. Taking a moment to think, she pressed one of her Knights forward in an aggressive manner. Seeing this, he stopped in mid sentence, puzzled as to what his next move should be. After a moment or two of thought, he couldn't come up with anything on the fly, and so he assumed his typical position with his fingers tips touching in the shape of a square. This usually meant that Temari was going to lose before too long, so she had decided to utilize new strategy to counteract it.

" Well, as you know, it is time for the exams. So I'm going to need your help with the paperwork. And while I know you have your duties to the academy and the cryptology and your Genin…however I'm only one woman and I've got a mountain of paperwork to attend. I'll make it easier on you this time around since you have your responsibilities too, but don't forget that you double as my aide. I'll do what I can to get you out of what I can, but I can't do it alone." she stated with her eyes closed, not worried about a response.

His brow twitched as he tried to focus more on concentrating on his strategy. Temari watched with a glimmer of delight as his concentration was being broken. Her smirk turned into a grin as she continued her verbal barrage.

" So I need your opinion on a certain matter. You see…as their older sister, I need to watch over Gaara, and to more of an extent Kankuro. I know, they're both old enough to take care of themselves, but it's not so much a physical matter but instead an emotional one. Gaara I know is at least level headed, and he does have Matsuri…but Kankuro…he's what you might call reckless with women. Anyhow, I'd like to find him a good woman, but that's not going to be easy with his personality." she continued.

" So, I thought that since you're such a manly man, that you would know of a good woman here in Konoha who might be a good match for a guy like Kankuro. Either way, you guys are such good pals after all…"

" Jeez you have to be such a god damn pain in the neck." he said, moving a single piece before folding his arms over his chest, " This'll do for now. And in response, no, I don't want to help you with the paperwork though I know whatever I say is meaningless and while I find it strange that you need to interject yourself into the love affairs of your younger brothers, I must say that I'm sure there is probably someone in the world for Kankuro, and I'm sure she's right here in Konoha." he said aggressively.

Her grin widened as his concentration had been broken and the playing field was more evened out now. His move was much more aggressive, however it seemed almost unimportant in the way he moved that single pawn. They continued trading off movements until Temari found herself in a position where she either would have to give up a pieces, or start trading pieces. She liked neither option, however allowing him to freely take her pieces was far worse. They began a game of trading piece for piece, and as it continued, his strategy seemed more convoluted.

_I don't get it. What the hell is this tactic? Trading pieces sucks, but he's losing rooks to my pawns…_

With a sigh, he finally moved up a single bishop, forcing her into a position of check. Of course, she had to move her King again, and wound up finding herself in the line of fire as she realized his plan. Though he lost his rooks and a bishop , he had pawns covering enough of the board to block any of her other pieces from directly intervening. In every move she attempted, the end result was futile. Her King was surrounded, and she was running out of room to retreat. With a sigh of defeat, she allowed herself to fall backwards against the couch with her arms spread out.

" Damn it. I thought I had you." she stated with an exhausted breath.

" Did you? When was that?" he asked with a laugh.

" When I got you to tell me to shut up. I thought I might have broken your concentration." she answered.

" Nope. I already had a plan." Shikamaru revealed, " All I needed was for you to think that it was a little more convoluted than it really was. And then all I had to do was just cut off your routes with simple pawns and let you walk yourself off the cliff."

A pillow found itself hurled into his face when he turned his head to shrug at the end of the explanation. As he pulled it from his face, he was quickly overwhelmed by a second pillow being pressed into his face by the blond, forcing him backwards against the adjacent couch.

" You big jerk. That makes eight in a row now." Temari shouted, putting her weight behind her palm to keep him pinned.

" Hey! Stmmmph….you damn wommmph!" Shikamaru choked out in bouts of muffled speech.

He tried to fight her off, but she was rather strong, especially for a woman. Before too long, he found himself face down against the seats of the couch with the Sand Kunoichi seated atop the middle of his back.

" There. Checkmate. " she stated proudly.

" Damn it woman…get off!" he shouted, doing what he could to try and wiggle free.

" What's the magic word?" Temari asked with a cheeky grin.

He stared up at her for a moment and couldn't help but smile at the sight of such a happy grin. But then a pain began to well up in the small of his back from where she was seated, forcing him to finally shake her off to release the pressure.

" Ow jeez. That was almost as bad as that time Choji ran me over…" he said as he stood up and began to stretch.

" What does that mean?" she asked with a flaring temper.

" Nothing…you win." he resigned, deciding not to fight this battle.

" I thought so." she said, rotating her left shoulder around.

It gave a loud popping sound and caused her to grimace in some pain. Shikamaru stopped his stretches and gave her a slightly puzzled look.

" That didn't sound good. Are you alright?" he asked, eyeing her shoulder.

" Yeah, it's just that when I was on the run, I got cut along my shoulder and it still aches a bit. Tsunade took care of the wound…but it's still kinda sore." she spoke, lightly rubbing it.

" Mind if I take a look?" the shadow ninja questioned.

" Sure thing, Doctor Nara." the sand ninja mocked.

He stepped behind her as she settled back in on the couch. He pressed his hands gently against the back of her neck and ran then down along her shoulders, closing his eyes and channeling chakra into his palms and fingertips. At first, she shuddered at the touch, partially being that he was a man, and partially because there was this nagging feeling about him from somewhere in the deepest realm of her chest. Shikamaru began tenderly massage her shoulders and upper back area, pinching and kneading her skin and muscle to work out knots and sores.

" God…I didn't know you could do something right…" she said, feeling her body relax more.

" Well, I thought it would be a good idea to learn some medical jutsu's just in case, so I've been having Shizune teach me. Oh, but if you want a really good massage, go see Hinata. That Byakugan along with what she already knows about medical jutsu works nicely." he stated.

" Oh? So is she your personal masseuse or are ya just friends?" Temari asked with a barb of sarcasm.

" It was a little over a year and a half ago, just after the Chunin exams…you remember that really strong Grass team?" he asked.

" Oh yeah. I heard two of them became Jounin already." she recalled.

" Anyways, I got sent on a recovery mission along with Choji and Hinata. I ended up taking about a dozen senbons in my left leg and two in my knee. I couldn't walk properly for weeks. Hinata was responsible for my rehabilitation, once the wounds had finally healed." Shikamaru revealed.

" You never mentioned that to me before? You dummy…you should have told me." scolded Temari, turning around quickly to glare.

" I survived, that's good enough. No reason to worry you over it. Besides…what does it matter?" he asked in a nonchalant tone.

" It does matter. I care…" she started to say, but stopped as her heart raced for a moment.

The pair looked between each other for a couple of moments in silence, until Shikamaru took a step back.

" I guess it's getting late. I should probably get going…" he said, shoving his hands nervously into his pockets.

" You want me to walk you home?" she teased.

" It'd be a nice change of pace I guess. But then I'd have to walk you back home and that wouldn't get either of us anywhere." he joked.

Sharing a brief laugh, she walked him to the door and was even kind enough to hold it open for him.

" Hey, thanks for stopping by. I had a good time." she said, with a smile no less.

" Yeah, sure. Anytime. There I something I wanted to ask you actually…" he responded.

" Sure, what's going on?" asked the blond with a quizzical look.

" I've got my Genin tomorrow, and I'll be running a training exercise. I would like your help with this, since they're used to my abilities, as well as some of the other Jounin and Chunins. I figure that it will help out since you're a complete stranger to them…" he asked.

" Funny actually…I met the three of them a little earlier." she admitted.

" Oh? So what do you think?" he asked, changing questions.

" They're…something else. I'm surprised you have to girls in the squad. They don't typically pair them up in that fashion…" she remarked.

" True. At first I thought I was just being cursed. But they're dedicated. Kasumi is a real thinker, and has a lot of talent. Karin isn't quite the thinker, but she's the strongest when it comes to Taijutsu. She has a strong fighting style, but I have to leave most of her training in that regard to her mother. A dual fan style is not quite part of my expertise. I know how some of your techniques work, but emulating them with her hasn't been very successful. I was actually going to ask you if you would take some time and work with her a little. Maybe teach her a trick or two." he asked.

" I don't mind I suppose. I'll be free in the afternoon around two. What's the exercise?" she asked.

" Then meet up by the targets in the western training field. I want to hold a hostage exercise, and you will be the aggressor. I'll play the hostage and it'll be their job to free me safely." Shikamaru explained.

" That's fine. Should I bring my fan?" she suggested.

" Definitely. You don't need to hold back too much, They may just be Genin, but they are no pushovers." he stated with a smirk.

She let out a laugh.

" Fine. Tomorrow it is. Now get out, I gotta get some sleep." the blond sand ninja yawned.

" Yeah yeah. I'll see you tomorrow." he said, stepping out of the doorway with a wave.

She sent him off with a smile, and watched him walk down the hallway before he disappeared. Afterwards, she shut the door and leaned up against it, rubbing he hand over the back of her neck and shoulders. There was a warm feeling there, still lingering from the chakra he had used on her. Letting out a gentle sigh, she brought herself upright and headed for the bedroom.


	3. New Assignment

The L Boogie- Aaaaand chapter 3 is up and running! A new character, a look at the Genin, and some action to satisfy the sweet tooth.

And hey…here's a shameless plug…go read and review my other Naruto story…Narutopoly. After all, it's Shikamaru and Temari stuck in an elevator playing monopoly with Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and Tsunade. So go read it and tell me what you think.

Legal Jargon- I don't own Naruto. The world, the characters, the…well…everything. Except for the Author Created stuff. So don't try to sue me, cause you can't get blood from stone.

The Darkhorse: A Naruto Fan Fiction

New Assignment, No Rest for the Unmotivated

It was a new day and the sun peered up over the horizon. Standing in the waiting room in order to see the Hokage, Shikamaru stood with his back up against the wall. Shizune was seated at the desk by the doorway, going through paperwork.

" Shizune…" he said, staring through the window off to his right.

The dark haired woman looked up with a smile.

" What can I help you with Shikamaru?" she asked.

" Could you teach me the chakra scalpel technique?" he asked, finally looking her way.

" What? Right here?" she exclaimed.

" Not really. Maybe tomorrow afternoon if you've got time. When I'm done here, I have to be at the Academy, and then with Temari and my Genin for an exercise. So today's a no go." he said nonchalantly.

" I'm rather surprised Shikamaru." she said, standing up and grabbing a book from the shelf, " Two years ago, you would have thought doing this kind of thing would be too much trouble. A busy schedule just wouldn't seem to fit your personality back then…" the dark haired woman finished, handing the book out to him.

" Well then not much has changed. I still find this to be too much trouble. But I suppose it's for my own good…and hopefully for the good of the village…" he stated, flipping through the book.

Shizune beamed a sweet smile, proud to hear how Shikamaru has matured through the years.

" Now that's a surprise. Hard to imagine some stubborn and lazy Shinobi like you would ever say something like that." said a voice from outside the office.

The pair looked on as the door out of the waiting room opened up, revealing a single Kunoichi dressed in a brown coat with a short maroon hair style. Shikamaru's expression melted slightly.

" Anko…" he grumbled.

" Oh gee…nice to see you too." she answered tersely.

" So what are you doing here?" he asked.

" I received a summons from Hokage-sama. But since your here, I wanted to have a chat with you. You were the only member of Team 10 who did not show up for the training exercise last week." she scolded.

He rolled his eyes, turning away from her and his attention back towards the book.

" I forgot about the exercise…sorry…" he lied, obviously.

" No you didn't. Look, I know I'm not Asuma…but I'm your Sensei now, whether you like it or not. Couldn't you just TRY and treat me with a little respect? You may be a Jounin now, but that doesn't put you on par with me." Anko warned.

The thought crossed Shikamaru's mind to challenge that statement. Though he was confident that he could take her, fighting would solve nothing and just be a big pile of troublesome.

" Whatever. I'm pretty busy Anko…I'm just here long enough to see Tsunade and then head over to the Academy…" he huffed.

" And that makes two of us. But I'm serious Shikamaru…if you don't start listening to me, you'll be sorry." she warned a second time.

Before he could retort, the office doors shot open and Tsunade stepped out.

" That's enough you two. As soon as Temari gets here, we can begin." ordered the Hokage.

" So how long is your woman gonna take?" Anko asked with a hint of malice.

" She's not my woman, and she'll get here when she gets here." Shikamaru responded angrily.

" Damn right I'm not. Please don't spread rumors…I have enough of a reputation as it stands…" Temari said wryly,

" And now we can begin…" Tsunade spoke, " Now as you know, in a week and a half, it will have been 5 years since the Sound Invasion as well as the treaty signing between Suna and Konoha. Considering that 5 years is rather a staple for peace…it has been decided that we'll hold a festival to celebrate. The citizens of Konoha are encouraged to participate, and the citizens of Suna are welcome to join in as well. Now then…the reason I have you three here, is because I want you three to organize it. You have a week and a half, and you can get the budget figures from Shizune."

" Are you serious? I'm a dedicated Jounin…I should be out in the field doing something important!" Anko argued.

" A celebration of peace between our two villages is very important." the Hokage argued back.

" Jeez…come on. Don't I have enough to do? Look, Tsunade-sama, I have Genin, a job in Cryptology and the Academy, I do routine missions, your laundry on occasion, and I'm currently serving as the Ambassador's Aide, yet again. I can't handle any more than what I've got." Shikamaru spoke, now adding his own argument.

" For once, you're right. And that's why today will be your last days at the Academy and in Cryptology." stated the tall blonde.

" What?" asked the confused Shadow Nin.

" I've gotten your replacement ready. You'll introduce this person and give her an orientation in your jobs at both those places." Tsunade revealed with a grin.

" Seriously?" he asked with his brow raised.

She nodded.

" I've decided that your skills are not being utilized properly. While there is a great deal you could teach at the Academy, they only need the basics…the rest will be for their Jounin instructors when they pass. And though you are our best agent in Cryptology…there are no currently pressing concerns, just some old mysteries that aren't hurting anyone not getting solved. Now then, with that out of the way…you're dismissed Anko. Shikamaru…Temari…I still have more business with the two of you." commanded the Hokage.

With a nod, Anko was quick to turn on her heel and leave the room, stopping in the doorway but did not turn to face either of her new partners.

" Tomorrow, we'll meet up at lunch, just across the street. Try not to forget about it this time, Shikamaru…" she barked before she left.

The male sighed and slapped his hand across the back of his neck, rubbing it profusely.

" That woman…so…what's this other thing you wanna talk about?" he asked, turning his attention towards Tsunade.

" Ah yes…that. This was something that was discussed earlier between the different Kage's and myself some time ago. In regards to the Chunin Exams this year, the Kazekage has requested that Suna, and the Land of Wind, be honored with the task of hosting the Chunin Exams. While traditionally they've almost always been held in Konoha, I think that it would be good for all parties involved." Tsunade revealed to their surprise.

" So…wait…starting this year, will Suna become the host for the Chunin Exams? Or will they only be hosting it for this year?" raised Shikamaru in question.

" Only for the year. Depending on how things go, we'll look into having them in Kumogakure in the following year. Otagakure also made a request to hold them, however due in part to current circumstances, I would rather not see that happen." she finished.

" So that way the responsibility doesn't fall squarely on Konohagakure." Shikamaru said with a sigh of relief.

" Why are you sounding so relaxed Shikamaru?" asked Tsunade with a grin.

" I was hoping that I wouldn't have to bother in the preparations…" he stated worriedly.

" Oh…you'll definitely be assisting in the preparations. For you see, from now on, you'll assume the role of Ambassador of Konohagakure." the older blonde congratulated with a widening grin.

" Wh…What?" he scoffed in confusion.

" While I don't find your personality to be quite suited to the role myself…I am aware you know how the job works considering all the time you've spent helping Temari out. Now then…" she continued on before getting cut off.

" What if I refuse?" he asked with sharp eyes.

" I'll give you a second squad of Genin, and recommend you to the ANBU." she threatened.

Knowing full well that there would not be enough time in the world to handle two Genin squads, and that ANBU work was way more trouble than it was worth, he sighed again, this time in defeat.

" Fine. I'll accept the stupid position…" he grumbled, " So troublesome…"

" Well then, congratulations mister Ambassador." she jibbed.

He turned to Temari in hopes of some kind of support. Her face was red and she was snickering quietly to herself, holding back laughter as best she could. He went to open his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.

" Troublesome." Temari said with a grin, drinking in the annoyed expression on his face, " I know. Trust me…I plan on putting you through all the crap you did me."

He opened his mouth for a moment as if to protest, however he sighed for the third time and opened his mouth to say his trademark phrase, only to be cut off now by Tsunade, who lipped it with a smirk. Being completely defeated it seemed, he shoved his hands into his pockets and finally spoke up.

" Anything else you wanna surprise me with? Next thing I know, you'll be trying to marry me off in some horrible, ideologically diplomatic fashion." the Shadow Nin questioned with a frown.

" Temari…you're still single…right?" Tsunade smiled, turning her attentions on the younger blonde, whose face began to fade into shades of red.

" Don't even joke about that." Temari threatened.

The Hokage shrugged and held back a laugh, turning around facing out the window.

" I guess that's everything. I'm expecting my message back from the Kazekage this afternoon. I'll call on you both if I hear something. Until then, dismissed." Tsunade commanded, allowing the two to leave.

Once outside, Shikamaru sat down on a nearby bench, taking a quick browsing through the book Shizune loaned him.

" So Mr. Ambassador…wanna grab a quick breakfast before you have to be at the Academy?" Temari asked, poking him in the side with her elbow.

" Ow…watch it will you? Jeez…Sure, whatever. Let's just eat here…" he said, pointing at a nearby restaurant.

The pair turned towards the diner and wandered in, taking their seats and ordering when prompted to.

" So what do you think?" she asked from across the table.

" About which? The Chunin Exams in Suna or the Festival?" he returned in question.

" Actually…the whole Ambassador thing. What do you think?" she asked again,

" I have no idea what she's thinking. I'm not the type. I don't do formal settings and ceremonies. I don't like dealing with emissaries and big shots. I just want to do my work and go home" he complained.

" So you don't like chauffeuring me around?" she pouted, teasingly.

" Don't put words in my mouth…" he scolded before realizing that she was laughing to herself.

He sighed and shook his head, giving her the signal that she needn't hold back anymore and to let her laugh echo throughout the small eatery.

" Jeez… "

" Oh come on. It's not that bad. You've seen what I do…so that's going to be most of your work. There are ceremonies from time to time, but you'll get instructions on all the proper how to's and whens." she said, trying to cheer him up, " But now that you mention it…what do you think about the Chunin Exams being held in Suna?"

" I'm okay with it, I guess. I can understand why Gaara would want to hold it there. The more attention Suna gets, the better their economy will become." Shikamaru reasoned.

" I'm excited. I kind of wish that my Genin weren't in it. Being in Suna, it makes me want to be a proctor, you know?" remarked Temari.

" I guess, if you like that sort of thing." he shrugged, shouldering off the question.

At this point, their server came back with their meals and they ate quickly as Shikamaru eyed the clock. Though they maintained small talk for the rest of the meal, time was short and so they had to part ways so they both could get to work. After a brief bout of arguing who should pay (as Shikamaru always offered to pay claiming it was a man's duty, and Temari's typical defense was for him to shove it you know where…) Temari kindly escorted him all the way to the Academy.

" Now don't forget. I'm out around three. I'm meeting Kasumi, Karin, and Kinta at three thirty at the western practice fields. Make sure your there early so we can go over the exercise before they get there." he cautioned.

" Yeah yeah. I won't forget. I'll see you after class, Sen-sei." she mocked, using a sultry voice to pronounce that final work slow and teasingly.

Leaving no parting words, he simply huffed and turned away, walking into the building while trying to shake the slight blush she just gave him. He moseyed quickly into the instructors lounge to gather his paperwork. He handed out simple nods and waves to the other instructors as they passed, but was quick to make his way into the classroom a little early today. As he walked through the door, he was stunned at the sight of a full classroom.

" Okay…I'm a half an hour early…anyone wanna tell me why you're all here?" he asked warily.

There were a couple of hands raised, and his eyes skimmed through the crowd until he picked a specific student, who's hair was hanging off her desk as she slept. With a quick flick of the wrist, he tossed a piece of chalk up at her, purposely hitting the desk in her place in hopes of making enough noise to wake her up.

" I see our little trouble maker is asleep as usual." he said with suspicion.

" Hey Sensei…I can see your underwear!" one of the younger students teased as he jumped up onto the desk and goaded the crowd into laughing at their Sensei.

Shikamaru quickly eyed himself, realizing that he was, in fact, only in his boxers.

_Troublesome.._

As the class began to roar with laughter, he turned around and began writing on the chalk board. Once finished, he turned to the class.

" Today's lesson…how to break Genjutsu…" he said, keeping his eyes on the girl who was sleeping.

As he began the motions to perform the technique, the girl whom he had kept his eyes on grinned slightly, until everything vanished, and Shikamaru was left standing in the doorway of a mostly empty classroom There, in that same seat, was an older woman, closer in age to Temari. She wore a dark blue, very traditional Kunoichi outfit, however instead of leggings they were simple fishnet mesh, and the vestment was long and loose, hanging just above her knee like a skirt. Upon her face, she wore that same fishnet mesh over her mouth and nose, with only her eyes showing. Her hair was long and black, hanging very straightly down just past her rear. She was only a couple of hairs shorter than Shikamaru, and had a very proportionate figure, while maintaining a fairly petite frame.

She was easily as good looking as Ino, however just like his teammate, this girl seemed to be able to get under his skin a bit.

" Okay…so let me guess…" he started to say, before she stood up.

" Let me introduce myself, Matsudamaiya Kiyara, here to take over the position of Instructor from Nara Shikamaru…" she said with a bow.

The woman started to take a step towards Shikamaru, before disappearing. He didn't get even a heartbeats moment to figure out what happened when she reappeared in front of him, practically staring him in the eye.

" You're cute." she said in a hushed tone.

" And you're troublesome. We only have today, so lets get started." he said turning his back on her quickly and spreading out the paperwork he had carried in with him.

In the time before the students came in, he gave her a brief overview of the curriculum and of which students she would need to watch out for, and which would need her help the most. Soon though, the class shuffled in and introductions were quick. Shikamaru took time to lecture for about half the class, until Kiyara began to cut in, where in which he was happy to let her try and handle it. He took a seat in the back and watched as she used examples and hands on methods in teaching the students things from history to chakra control.

Class ended at two thirty, and as the kids filed out, Shikamaru stood up and began to leave.

" Hey, wait a moment…Nara!" she called out.

He stopped in the doorway and turned towards her as she approached.

" What is it Matsudamaiya?" he asked flatly.

" Call me Kiyara." she asked playfully in return.

" Whatever. So uhh…good luck. They can be a handful." he said before trying to ditch out.

She grabbed onto his arm and gave him a strong pull, impeding his need to leave.

" What is it, Matsudamaiya?" he asked again, more annoyed now.

" I said to call me Kiyara…" she returned flatly, still hanging onto his arm.

" Kiyara…what do you want? I've got places to be…" he stated.

" So you aren't free today?" she smirked.

" No. I'm a very busy guy. Busy busy busy. Now I gotta go." he responded impatiently, giving a stronger pull to break her grasp on his arm.

She watched him walk off, sharpening her gaze and her smile before turning around to tend the empty class room. In the meantime, he hurried towards the training grounds, grumbling loudly about troublesome women the whole way. He got there a bit late, and was ready to apologize to Temari for his tardiness, however was surprised at the fact that she just wasn't there. After taking a moment to go through his memory to make sure his instructions were correct, he began to look around for her, becoming more irritated by the minute.

_What's wrong with her? I told her three…and now it's almost time for the…_

" SENSEI!" called a feminine voice.

He stopped what he was doing and turned around, surprised at the sight of his three Genin, early to an appointment.

" Oh…you guys…well…" he said shakily.

_This day is not going well at all…_

" How are you Shikamaru-sensei?" Karin asked in an excited tone.

" I'm…doing good Karin." he said, calming himself down, deciding to change his plan.

" So what'd you want to meet out here for, Sensei?" Kasumi asked.

" Well…" he started today before he was cut off.

Approaching quickly and from the trees, a Ninja shot forward, cutting between the three Genin and knocking them all on their backsides. Before he could react, the Shinobi was behind Shikamaru, and pulled him tightly against her, bringing a Kunai up against his neck.

" Wha…what's going on?" Kinta said, standing up slowly.

" No way. SENSEI!" cried Karin as she was up on her feet once recognizing the danger.

" Hold on…" Kasumi yelled, also now on her feet with Kunai drawn.

The red haired Genin studied their Sensei's assailant.

_I think it's a woman. Hard to tell with all of that face paint. High cheek bones and small shoulders…so probably. What's that thing hanging on her back?_

" Hey…you kids gonna just let me cut this guy up?" the attacker asked, pressing the knife tighter against Shikamaru's neck, now actually drawing some blood.

Shikamaru clenched his teeth, ignoring the slight pain he was receiving from the knife.

_Jeez Temari…nothing can be simple…_

" No! Sensei!" cried Karin again, deciding not to waste time with words and drew both her fans from the holsters attached at the small of her back.

Covering the distance quickly, she jutted the fans outward in their closed position. One aimed for the Temari's head, the other came low. With a careful tug, Temari jerked her hostage in the path of the fans, causing Karin to halt her movements. She took a quick step backwards, and in an act of fancy foot work, whirled around to her right , bringing the pair of fans around in an attempt to take advantage of Temari's less guarded lower left hand side. In an effort to keep safe, Temari took another step back, pulling her hostage along while maintaining her defense.

It was then that she noticed it. When Temari's foot landed on the surface, she felt a faint pulse of Chakra in the very ground itself. Karin continued her assault, forcing Temari to keep moving, and as her foot steps landed, the chakra continued to pulse through the ground in beat with Karin's. It wasn't long before Temari found herself moving in a sort of rhythm to Karin's beat. The longer it continued, the more accurate and swifter Karin's attacks became.

_Damn it. I can't let myself get caught in this._

In an effort of pure willpower, Temari felt her leg muscles tense up as she forced herself to break the stride that Karin was influencing. Recognizing the tactics defeat, Kasumi stepped in before Temari would get a chance to counterattack.

" KARIN! LOVERS DANCE!" Kasumi called out while giving hand signals to Kinta.

The black haired Genin nodded, turning one of the fans upward and opened it. She held it just under her eyes, masking her nose and mouth. Her body and hips began to sway in a strange pattern, and she fluttered her fan quickly. Temari darted her eyes about, trying to keep track of all three Genin, however as her eyes moved, so did Karin, and she even dared to move closer in order to block more of her vision.

Growling low, Temari took a step backwards, dragging her hostage alongside and pulled him to her right. She saw Kasumi just staring at her with her arms crossed, mimicking that annoying look that Shikamaru always gave back when he was younger. She bared her teeth in annoyance and began throw a Kunai with her left hand, until Karin hopped in the way, blocking her sight again. This time, the fan wielding youth took a jab at Temari with her free hand, and almost landed a successful blow to her abdomen if Temari hadn't brought her knee up and knocked it off course. The strike grazed Shikamaru's ribs, but otherwise did nothing except almost throw Karin off balance.

Changing pace, still with a single arm hold on Shikamaru, Temari threw him forwards into Karin, who hadn't fully recovered her arm from the attack she had dared to land. Unsure of what to do, Karin used her free arm to try and embrace him, hoping to use his momentum to push herself backwards and turn on her heel and free him.

She wouldn't be so lucky.

Temari was keeping an eye on Kinta, who was now sneaking through the trees. Temari had noticed, however since he wasn't preparing to strike yet, she decided that she would punish Karin for her attempt. As the younger girl grabbed onto her Sensei, Temari pulled him backwards with a great strength, dragging her with him. With an open palmed strike, Temari shut Karin down with a clean blow to the back of the head. And now, sensing an attack from Kinta, she spun the herself and Shikamaru around and tossed a pair of his own Kunai at the hiding Genin, forcing him to rethink his strategy.

Finally, she turned her head to face Kasumi, who had yet to do anything.

" What's wrong kiddo? You scared?" she said in a deeper tone, channeling her inner Kankurou.

The red haired girl simply glared harder, still with Kunai drawn, but taking no real action. Quickly turning her head, she took notice of Kinta as he made his attack, striking from her left side. As she started to take a step back, Kasumi let two Kunai of her own loose. One was low and completely missed, landing in the ground a yard or so away. Temari blocked the other, but was surprised as she felt the back of her leg graze against something.

_Oh god…that Kunai had a wire attached…_

She quickly tried to catch herself, however two more Kunai came flying from Kasumi, and she was forced into falling over. She tried to hang onto Shikamaru, however a pair of hands burrowed through the ground and caught his legs, and in an instant, he was buried up to his neck.

" Earth Style, Headhunter Jutsu!" Kasumi called, as a shadow clone rose from the ground.

As the Genin stood up, Temari rolled off to the side, dodging a pair of Kunai from the trees as Kinta's aim was just slightly off mark. Still on the defensive, Kasumi was quick to strike while Temari was prone, landing her knee into Temari's lower ribcage. As contact was made however, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

" Not bad." said a voice from points unknown.

Kinta was quick to realize it was right behind him, however as he turned around with a pair of bladed Discus' in his hands, she was already bringing her weapon down upon him for a clean knock out.

Kasumi dismissed her Shadow Clone and held her right palm downward with her left hand wrapped around the wrist. Temari studied the pose and noticed something that looked like electricity arc off of it and into the ground.

_There's no way…she knows Chidori?_

Deciding that if the youngster was going to utilize such a dangerous technique, Temari herself would have to end this scuffle quickly with little room to mess around. Her fan opened up to it's full breadth, with the three stars staring back at Kasumi aggressively. More of the electrical arcs shot off from her hand, though appeared to be generally harmless.

" You'll have to excuse me. I'm not terribly strong, so my style of Taijutsu requires my opponent to more openly attack me. Since you're pretty smart, I'll just have to approach you a different way…" she yelled, darting her way towards Temari.

The Jounin knew that now was the time to end this, before someone got seriously hurt. Kasumi approached quickly, tucking her free arm behind her back while her electrified arm was poised to strike at her side. Electing to bring the fight to where she felt more comfortable, Temari leapt into the air behind her, goading the younger girl to follow along. Soon though, she stopped and drew her fan back.

" Sorry kid, nothing personal…but I can't afford to be hit with a technique like that…" she called out and swung her fan around. A powerful blast of wind came crashing it's way towards Kasumi, and so she dropped down to the ground and ducked behind a tree, Chakra shot through the wind cutting at the tree's and at the very ground itself in search for the red haired Genin. Temari scouted the aftermath of her attack to see the Genin huddled behind the tree.

" It's over!" she called out getting ready to take another swing, however a sudden explosion of light erupted from the figure, causing Temari to pull back her attack. Immediately afterwards, smoke bombs went off to conceal the area. Once the paper flash bomb had expired, Temari used her fan to sweep the smoke out of the area, revealing an empty battlefield.

" Hmph…not half bad…" she commented, closing her fan and dropping down to the ground.

Soon, Shikamaru appeared, along side of Kasumi and three of her Shadow Clones. One of the Shadow Clones was carrying Kinta, while the other two supported Karin.

" I told you they were no slouches. This one especially. She knew she couldn't beat you in a one on one match, so she just forced some distance and used a couple of means to blind you in order to accomplish the objective." he praised.

" Yeah. That was a good trick, burying Shikamaru up to his neck. Makes it harder to use him as a shield, and it's easier to defend a smaller target." Temari said, also praising, " But was that really Chidori? It kinda looks like it, but it's rather quiet…"

" No. It's a family jutsu. Not as powerful, but it's effective."Kasumi revealed.

" So how was it before you realized this was a test?" Shikamaru asked.

" Honestly Sensei? From the get go. I don't think they did…I figured it would have been. No maniacal woman is just going to run in here and take an elite Jounin hostage just like that." Kasumi reasoned, with excellent results.

" I gotta say, they're tough. Though I take it that Karin could use a little work on her mental conditioning?" Temari asked, looking at Shikamaru.

" A little. She's actually probably the toughest of you three in an out and out duel…but she can get flustered and taken in by the moment if she's not careful." the Shadow Nin stated.

" That and she also has that crush on you Sensei. I take it you know about it to, Temari-sama?" Kasumi wondered.

" Yeah. I kinda got that feeling from when we talked…" she acknowledged with a smile.

Shikamaru shook his head, turning away.

_I shouldn't really have to deal with things like this…_

" Okay, so lets get these to up and as a reward for your hard work, we'll go get something nice to eat. My treat." Shikamaru said, taking a glance between his two sleeping Genin.

That wouldn't last long, for at the prospective sound of food, Kinta's eyes shot open.

" Really Sensei? You're serious?" he asked.

" Yes I am Kinta. Now help Kasumi get Karin awake and we'll get going." he said.

Temari smiled and watched the four as they began along a path back to the mainstays of the village. After a few moments, the group stopped as Shikamaru turned back.

" Hey, Troublesome Woman…are you coming or what? You did a good job too. And since I feel bad that my Genin beat you, I'll pick up your tab." he called out to her.

She simply returned his smirk with one of her own along with a shrug.

" Sure…sounds like fun."


	4. Escort Woes

The L Boogie- There! It's up and I'm happy with it. Chock full of action and adventure. I hope everyone enjoys it, because it wasn't easy. I've been wanting to write this one now for a while, and while I had the idea in my head, it seemed reaching said idea was much harder than I originally believed. So enjoy. Also, if you read it, and you liked it, review it! I love reviews. And if you didn't, also let me know. I want to do my best so that you all have a good time.

Bonclaysfan…I appreciate the review…but tell me what you would like to see done. Calling it fair (that which is between not bad and not great) is fine…I just want to know what you would like to see done in order to improve.

Anything else? Hmmm…oh…go read Narutopoly. It's funny and I'll be posting on it again very soon.

Legal Jargon- I don't own Naruto. The world, the characters, the…well…everything. Except for the Author Created stuff. So don't try to sue me, cause you can't get blood from stone.

The Darkhorse: A Naruto Fan Fiction

Escort Woes

" What a drag…" the young man commented to himself.

" Why?" Temari asked, as the pair reached the south western gates of the village.

" Look ahead." he pointed out as they approached a figure standing at their destination.

Temari squinted her eyes to make out the figure, but did not recognize the mystery Kunoichi. Turning her head to look back at the Shadow Nin, she gave a shrug.

" So who's that?" she asked.

" Kiyara…the woman who replaced me at the Academy." he sighed.

" Oh? You haven't mentioned anything about her to me. Why is that?" she asked in the 3rd degree.

" Because the less I have to think about her, the better." he answered snidely.

" We'll then, let's see…" she smirked as the woman came into view.

Upon seeing each other, the Kunoichi's exchanged harsh glances, taking time to size each other up. Kiyara's lips widened beneath the fishnet mesh mask wrapped around her mouth.

" So you're the Suna Ambassador. Well, well…So has Shikamaru told you all about me?" asked the dark haired woman.

" Despite all the time we've spent together since I've been in town, he hasn't had much to say." Temari retorted.

" Oh? Such a shame…but I suppose he is a gentleman…" she returned, turning aside while wrapping her arms around her waist.

Stifling a small degree of blush before it grazed her cheeks, Temari hardened her gaze before turning to Shikamaru.

" Is she always like this?" she whispered.

He simply nodded with his arms crossed.

" So lets go, Shikamaru." Kiyara sang, approaching quickly from his side and gave him a playful nudge with her shoulder.

" Fine. Go have fun, Shikamaru." Temari said with a daggery tone.

" Troublesome…" he said, lighting up a cigarette as he was drug away.

Temari's expression softened seeing this, and simply watched the two of them walk off until they were out of sight. She turned and left with a smile once the feelings in her chest settled a bit more. As they left the vicinity of Konoha, Shikamaru went over everything that happened to lead up to this disaster.

**Yesterday**

Five days had passed and preparations were being made. To Shikamaru's chagrin, he, Temari, and Anko met up at the same restaurant every morning to work on the festivities that would occur in six days. Their usual routine consisted of Temari and Anko giving a brief run down of what they had accomplished, followed by Shikamaru's own progress report, given in reluctance after a short bout of bickering with the two women.

Anko's job was to arrange and conscript vendors and shops into having booths lined up around the area dedicated to the fair grounds. Temari was working on arranging a security detail for both the festival as well as for anyone traveling from abroad, since Suna was her hometown. Shikamaru's job was to work out the organization of events, as well as oversee the production of the Festival as a whole. With only five days until the actual festival date, the three of them were being pressed for time.

" Look, just go out there and be an escort. It's not like you have that much to do in the meantime. You might be the foreman, but Anko and I can keep watch over the fair constructions." Temari reasoned with a hard look.

" Don't drag me into this. I don't see why you can't do that yourself. It is a caravan from Suna after all." Anko huffed.

" It's because he's practically finished with his work, while I'm still working with the other Chunin and some of the Jounin for the security here. Coordinating around the different schedules and missions is giving me a headache. I can't leave it to either of you since it'd be too much trouble to try and go over who all I've talked to and what all has been planned. Unless you'd rather do it Anko…then be my guest…" the blond said with a sly grin.

" Fine. " the maroon haired woman agreed.

" Now wait…just because my work is close to being finished doesn't mean you can just give me more work to do, just like that…" Shikamaru whined.

" What's the big deal? You got that new girl to take care of your Academy and Cryptology work, right? So stop complaining." commanded the Suna Ambassador, " Now go and get ready to head out to the border. The Caravan will meet you there tomorrow afternoon."

" What a drag…" he commented.

After the trio parted in order to attend their duties, Shikamaru made his way down the main road towards the training grounds, in order to meet his Genin. Along the way, he felt a sudden presence just behind him. Stopping abruptly, he turned around to see Kiyara standing inches behind him with a smile.

"…."

" Come on Shikamaru…this is where you say hello…" the Kunoichi coaxed.

" What do you want Kiyara? I don't like it when people use Jutsu's so frivolously…" he complained.

" I was wondering what you were doing tomorrow, thought maybe I could grab some time from ya." she said.

" Nope. I've got to head to the border to the Land of Wind tomorrow. I'll be back in four days." he said with a smile.

" Oh…good! Cause I'm free and wanted to have a little chit chat with you about some things." the woman responded.

" What…are you saying you're going to follow me out there?" Shikamaru asked with the shock of surprise.

" Sure, why not? I don't' have anything better to do and you'll need a reliable escort." Kiyara answered with a wider smile.

" No. Absolutely not." he objected.

" You don't really have a choice. I'm going to head to the Hokage's office right now and get her permission. After all, I've heard all the rumors about what's going on with the Sound. If their ANBU know of you, then they'll probably be out looking for you. You did kill a few of their number, if the report read right. So you'll need a body guard, and I'm an A rank Ninja just like you…so it'll work out." she reasoned.

Before he had a chance to retort, she disappeared, using that same jutsu that allowed her to move so quickly.

_This isn't good…_

Now feeling more troubled than before, he lit up a cigarette before shoving is hands as far into his pockets as they would go. He wanted to make this meeting with his Genin brief since he'd have to do some light packing in order to make the travel. Maybe even stop by his parents house to appease his mother so she wouldn't just randomly show up at his front door. No matter what though, he dreaded the idea of Kiyara tagging along with him to escort this caravan.

Upon reaching the spot that he and his Genin always seemed to meet, he could see Karin was the only one there. With a quick look up at the sky, he realized that he was a few minutes early himself.

" Sensei!" she called out with a wave, trotting her way to meet up with him.

" How's it going Karin?" he asked, glancing about for the other two.

" I'm well. I was up training all morning since we didn't have any missions."

" Good. Have you seen Kasumi or Kinta?" he asked.

" Sumi and Kin? I don't know. I bet she'll be along pretty soon." Karin guessed.

" And Kinta will probably be late, unless Kasumi's with him." Shikamaru guessed.

A quick turn to his left upon hearing footsteps approach, Shikamaru turned to discover Kasumi in the distance. Karin gave her a wave, and Shikamaru a nod, prompting the youth to make haste. Upon arrival, she took a head count.

" I see Kinta isn't here yet." Kasumi noted.

" Good morning Sumi!" Karin greeted with a smile.

Kasumi gave her a nod, then looked to their Sensei.

" So what's up Sensei? We ever gonna get a mission?" she asked.

" Nope. Or at least not for a couple of days. I've got a mission to…" he said getting cut off by the voice of a boy who was running his hardest.

" HEY…I….I'M HERE!" Kinta called out, running with what breath he had.

" It's about time Kinta. You really gotta work on being punctual." Kasumi scolded.

" S…sorry Sumi…sorry…Sensei…sorry…Rin…" he sputtered.

" Catch your breath first kid. Then worry about the apologies." Shikamaru advised.

Karin took a small water pouch off from one of the ports on the back of her harness and handed it over. The boy happily took it and drank his fill before handing it back.

" Thanks Rin…I needed that…" Kinta thanked with his breath beginning to return to him.

" So as I was saying…I'll be doing an escort job. It's a big deal since it'll involve over two hundred people from what I have come to understand. Being the case, I want you guys to continue your training regiments while I'm gone. Are there any questions?" he asked.

" Yes Sensei. Would it be alright if we came on the mission with you? We don't have any missions of our own right now…" Karin alluded with a slight blush.

" Sorry Karin, but no can do. This'll probably be considered an A rank mission. There will be a lot of people to protect, and the more people there are, the more dangerous the foe will be that decides to attack." he answered.

She pouted briefly before Kasumi spoke up.

" So…what about the Chunin Exams. It's been talk now that they'll be held in Suna. Is that correct?" she asked.

" Yes it is. I have entered you thee into the Chunin exams. And since we're all gathered right now, I might as well say it. I was made the Ambassador of Konohagakure. This means that I'll be taking a leading role in the organization of the exams. Because of this, I'll be heading to Suna with Temari after the up coming Festival. You three, since you will require continued training, will come with me." he answered.

" So wait…when are the exams?" Kinta asked, getting ready to do his math.

" Towards the end of next month. So we'll leave a few days after the fair, and that'll leave us about four weeks to spend in Suna." he stated, doing the math for Kinta, " And…if you pass the preliminaries, then it'll be another month until the finals."

" So we could potentially be in Suna for two months, give or take…" Karin added.

" Wow. That sounds like a pain. So what…will we receive any missions in the meantime?" asked the red headed Genin.

" No. Your time will be spent in preparation for the exam." clarified Shikamaru.

" But…with no missions…I'll have no money…" Karin said with tears welling up in her eyes.

" Is it that big of a deal?" her Sensei asked.

" It's just that…I just bought this really nice Kimono for the Festival…and it cost me everything I had…" the raven haired girl cried.

The tall, dark haired Jounin glanced around uncomfortably.

" W…well I…uhhh…jeez. I'll see what I can come up with, if it gets so bad Karin…" he uncomfortably cheered.

" Really?" Karin sniffled.

With a sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes.

" Yeah yeah. So do you have any other questions?" he asked, looking into the sky to get a bearing on the time of day.

The three looked between themselves and exchanged shrugs.

" If not, then you're dismissed." he commanded, turning around quickly and heading down the road.

Leaving his Genin behind, he hastily made his way back to his apartment in order to pack for the trip starting the next morning, grumbling the whole way.

**Present**

" So that's your woman, huh?" Kiyara asked with a faint sneer.

" No. That's not my woman. Why does everyone keep saying that?" he responded, almost halfway done with his cigarette.

" It's because you two are together a lot. That and you have a surprising chemistry." she added.

" Whatever…" he dodged, irritably.

" Why so grumpy? You get to spend the next couple of days with me. Any other guy in the village would happily jump at this kind of thing." pouted the woman.

" Look, no offense, but I just don't like you…" he revealed.

" Oh my…how direct. You certainly are a disagreeable boy." she commented with a snicker.

He didn't say anything in response, electing to continue walking onward in silence.

_Man I wish Choji were in town…I'd have asked him and wouldn't be in this situation…_

The pair continued for the rest of the day in almost complete silence, which was just fine for Shikamaru. He was able to stare up at the clouds and bask in the scenic view of the landscape. Kiyara on the other hand found the silence to be boring and irritating, however had decided to let Shikamaru have his moment. They'd have to camp soon, and she figured at that point there would be no reason or way he could just completely ignore her. As expected, once the moon was high in the night sky and the road hard to see, Shikamaru broke the silence.

" Alright. We'll camp here for the night." he spoke.

" About time…" she responded.

" What…tired already?" Shikamaru asked.

" Actually…I'm just so surprised to hear you talking to me." Kiyara shot back with a slight frown.

" I told you…" he started to say.

" There's something I wanted to talk to you about…" she started, cutting him off.

"…What's that?" he asked with a mild surprise.

" I heard that you only recently became a Jounin, however are considered elite. Even most Jounin are considered B level Ninjas on average. But you were a B ranked as a Chunin, and upon promotion immediately upgraded to A rank. Tell me, how many A ranked missions have you completed?" she asked.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts before answering.

" I've completed Eighteen D ranked missions, forty nine C ranked missions, thirty six B ranked missions, twelve A ranked missions, and two S ranked mission." he spouted in a cadence.

Her eyes widened slightly at that last statement.

" Two S ranked mission? Your serious?" she stated in great surprise.

" Yeah. One was part of a joint effort between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind to apprehend an attempted assassination on the life of the Feudal Lord to the Land of Fire. It ended up being one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist under the influencing of Orochimaru. It went well enough, considering that both Suna and Konoha placed a great deal of force into the mission. Still didn't end up going well. We had to kill the assailant since he wouldn't come along peacefully." he revealed as he began to start a small campfire.

" So what about the other mission?" Kiyara questioned.

Shikamaru said nothing for a few moments, taking the time to light up a cigarette. He took a long and slow drag from it, allowing the smoky air to permeate in his lungs as he considered the question. A dull, clutching, pain took to his chest as memories of his former Sensei passed through his mind, until he exhaled and released the pressure building up inside his lungs.

" The other S ranked mission was simply to kill a member of the Akatsuki." he stated, leaving it obvious that he was willing to talk no more about it.

" I see. Well that's pretty impressive. I've never gone on any S ranked missions. It might be because I'm not from Konoha…" said the dark haired woman as she huddled close to the small fire.

" So where are you from then?" Shikamaru asked.

" Kumogakure. I arrived here about two years ago during the reconstruction of Konoha. You see, my mother was from Konoha and I had always wanted to come here and see it. She told me so many stories about how beautiful it was and how wonderful the people were. After the Disaster of Pain occurred, I heard through word of mouth and decided that I should see what I could come here and do. I think my Mother would have wanted it that way. So I arrived here and did whatever anyone would allow a foreigner to do. And then eventually I fell in love with Konoha too…so I traded in my Cloud headband for a Leaf." she answered, reaching into a pouch on her hip and revealing an old Kumo Ninja headband.

A few minutes of silence passed between the pair before Shikamaru rolled out a small blanket and wrapped it around himself as he sat down up against a nearby tree.

" I'm kinda tired…so I'll let you keep first watch." he said sleepily, deciding to escape awkward silence through sleep.

She gave a half hearted shrug and decided not to argue. Throughout the night, she kept watch until it was his turn, in which he would automatically wake up and take a seat up in the tree top while she rested. They continued the trend until the morning came and there was no more reason to dawdle in that place. They expected to meet up with the Caravan at the end of the day, so they decided to hoof it at a steady pace.

Stopping for very little more than to go to the bathroom or grab food (because they found it faster to just eat on the move) they continued walking onwards. Time elapsed and so did the terrain, as the trees of the forest faded in favor of the rocky canyon paths that always signaled the entrance to the Land of Wind. Now, the pair walked between two massive rock walls on each side of them, with about a football fields length of space in between, filled with all variety of small rock formation and large petrified trees.

They journeyed on for another hour, until the sun began to set and the Caravan finally came into view. The pair halted in their tracks and let the mass of travelers make their way towards them. This was done so as not to alarm the Shinobi guarding said Caravan. Quickly, and ahead of the Caravan, a trio of Suna ANBU appeared before the pair of Konoha Jounin. They wore black hoods and had elaborately painted faces, making it hard to distinguish their facial features.

" You must be the escorts sent by Konoha. We were assigned by Kazekage-sama to assist in the escort of the Caravan. My codename is Blackbird." said the first of the three as they took a triangular formation.

" My codename is Sandtrapper. We've been on the move for the last couple of days. Thankfully it's been fairly quiet, however our intelligence suggest that a group of Rogue Ninja's have nested themselves in an area nearby the Caravan route." stated the Suna ANBU.

Shikamaru's eyes fell on the third ANBU, who remained silent. 'Blackbird' cleared his throat and spoke in his behalf.

" He can no longer speak. It was in a mission over a year ago that he had his vocal chords slashed. His codename is Godhands." Blackbird spoke.

Shikamaru perked a brow at the sound of their names.

_What kind of idiot gives out these titles…_

Kiyara began to give a report on their travels while Shikamaru lazily glanced about. Once the semi friendly banter was finished, Shikamaru laid down security instructions.

" All things considered, if you haven't been attacked yet, then the attackers are planning to utilize the terrain inside the forest. It's a simple strategy that works well when you're encountering a large number of people. Using the canyon to funnel the crowd in specific directions, the large, petrified tree's, and the Caravans size to restrict our movements, the assailants will undoubtedly attempt confusion and terror tactics first. Likely there will be traps ahead. Once the group is in a confusion, the enemy will probably attack from up above, as height is a natural advantage in this kind of scenario. The attack will probably take place near the time the Caravan decides to take rest. I firmly believe that we will be trailed by an enemy surveillance officer, or that we may even already be infiltrated by said officer." Shikamaru explained, revealing what he believed t be the enemy plans.

" What leads you to believe that we may have been infiltrated?" Sandtrapper asked.

" If the enemy is a shrewd tactician then we have already been infiltrated. If our enemy has a larger force, say thirty to fifty, we'd see them a mile away if they were trailing us. If they were fifteen or less, they would be harder to track, however would be disadvantaged considering there are so many people as well as Suna ANBU on top of A ranked Leaf Jounin. They'll have to wait for just the right time to strike while maintaining a very low profile. Thus, I believe that they may have a sleeper agent among the travelers. Otherwise we'll see them coming and I could handle the whole damn thing by myself." he finished finally.

" So what should we do about the sleeper agent?" Blackbird asked.

" Nothing, other than make sure you know what anyone would be doing outside of the Caravan route. I don't care if they're using the bathroom or are picking flowers…we need to keep our presence up. That way, we can deter our foes and maybe force them into reconsidering their attack plans." he answered, " Also, I think it will happen soon. The closer we get to Konoha, the easier we could receive aide. In other words, I expect the attack to hit in only a few hours."

" A few hours? Your serious?" Kiyara exclaimed.

" Yes. I wish we were still in the desert and not out here in this canyon. More room to work with and it's harder for them to lay booby traps." complained the Tactician.

" So what will we do then?" Blackbird asked.

" Alrght, here's the plan. Someone needs to take point position at the front of the Caravan. This person needs to be good at searching out possible traps. Then, we need someone in the midst of the Caravan to act as liaison between the front and the rear guard, as well as someone who can lend their weight around. Three people in the back, as it's the most often attacked point of the caravan. Two placed in guard positions, and one placed as a look out. Any volunteers?" Shikamaru asked.

" I'll take the liaison position. I'm probably faster than all of you put together, and while ambush tactics are one of my forte's…traps are not. I'm more of the Bushwhacker type." Kiyara offered.

" Fine. I happen to be very good with traps, so I'll take point position. You three decide how you want to line up the rear guard duties." Shikamaru ordered as all three of the Sand ANBU snapped to attention.

The quintet dispersed their formation and took their positions as directed. The Caravan continued their travel for another hour or so as the night began to set in. Finally, Shikamaru stopped them and decided that they should camp right there. With that, the Shinobi began to scan the area from wherever they held their positions. The Suna ANBU seemed to keep to themselves, as Blackbird and Sandtrapper kept a dutiful eye out as the further most rear guard. The silent Godhands mingled about, watching as the various travelers conversed among themselves and did a small amount of bartering to one another.

Kiyara watched on from on top of a petrified tree, scouring the people for some one or thing to look out of place. About the most excitement she would see was from a young man hooting and hollering and waving his little red bandanna about, seeing as he had won a large sum of money in some kind of gambling game. Dice is what it looked like, but she wasn't completely sure.

An hour passed as Shikamaru stared out into the foreboding darkness in front of them, a single lit cigarette illuminating his face. It was hard to see anything, and so he began to build his chakra. With a good deal of caution, he began to utilize his Shadow Sewing Jutsu, and allowed dozens of thin black tendrils to rise slightly off the ground and slither along the landscape, acting as trip wires or land mines of sorts, in hopes that his unknown opponent will stumble into his web, and give him the chance to act first.

Two more hours passed and the Caravan began to quiet down as people started to make bedtime preparations. The Shinobi still continued their look out, however had found ways to become less conspicuous. Shikamaru was counting the seconds and minutes, going over varying scenario's and case files in his head, trying to decipher who or how their opponent would attack. Finally, one last hour passed and the night had faded into it's darkest. The moon was three quarters full, however was hidden behind the canyon walls, only allowing the faintest of illumination to slip along it's rocky barriers.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, focusing on the shadowy tendrils he had spread out through the darkness. It wasn't long before he felt one of them break. Immediately, his eyes shot open and he turned quickly in the direction it came from. Digging quickly into a pouch on his leg, he grabbed a paper flare and tied it to a kunai, releasing it at his unseen opponent. Naturally, it missed as planned. Turning away before the flash came, he threw another Kunai, this time arcing it in Kiyara's direction to get her attention.

The small knife landed hard into a nearby plank garnering her attention. As she turned, there was a brilliant flash of light off in the distance, as she saw a half a dozen silhouettes on the approach. In a mere instant later, she took a few Kunai and tied paper flares to them, allowing them to fly in all directions so that the three Suna ANBU would be able to see what was going on.. Immediately, as more silhouettes began to show themselves, the three went into action, drawing Kunai and advancing on their enemy.

Shikamaru wasted little time into garnering his surroundings. While the paper flares illuminated the area to some effect, he pointed skyward to Kiyara as he noticed a couple of figures moving over head. She took off immediately, with a speed that not even his well trained eyes could follow. The first of the figures in the canopy of the canyon never knew what got him. In a single smooth motion, she was already passed him and now had drawn a sword from what seemed to be the folds of a sash around her waist. The Ninja fell from the sky and onto the rocky path below, clutching tightly to a fatal wound that would claim him quickly. As the next of her quartet of victims came to realize what happened, he hurled three Kunai in her direction, with one being off the mark and the other two becoming deflected. In response, she made a series of quick hand signs with her free hand.

" Phantom Shuriken Jutsu." she called as she quickly reached for a shuriken from her pouch and let the daggery projectile fly.

As the Ninja went to block it with a new Kunai that he had drawn, he was unfortunate to discover that the high speed shrapnel passed harmlessly through his own weapon, however not harmlessly into his neck, imbedding itself into the core of his jugular. A muffled and blood choked cry later, and he was finished.

In the meantime, Shikamaru had found himself forced to deal with seven Ninja of his own. Quickly, he was able to snag three with his Shadow Possession Jutsu, and not leaving them much time to realize that they had been caught, he motioned with a free hand and invited a trio of small shadow hands to slink up their bodies and strangle them as they stood there, completely helpless. He had no time to rest on his laurels however, as a single Ninja approached from his left flank at a high rate of speed. He ducked a single katana swing from separating his head from his shoulders, and found that a second enemy Ninja was now on the approach as well, considering he had to leap out of the way of another incoming katana.

Rolling to safety, he reached into his pockets and quickly pulled out his treasured Trench Knives. As another swing came from the first of the two swordsmen attackers, Shikamaru allowed his Chakra to surge through the blade of the knives, and brought them both to bear in a scissor motion, slicing the sword in two. In a second move, he threw himself forwards and allowed both of his arms to swing back around, plummeting the chakra enhanced tips into the Ninja's lower abdomen. Dropping the hilt of his now broken sword, the enemy struggled to no avail to pull himself free from Shikamaru, and found himself whirling along with him quickly as the Shadow Nin used him as a shield to absorb the damage from the second swordsman thrust.

Now with a great deal of force, Shikamaru shoved himself forwards, along with the dually skewered Ninja, and his comrade who had just been forced into virtually taking his life. He released his bleeding body shield and made a half a dozen fast handsigns, then inhaled a deep drag on his cigarette and opened his mouth. Releasing the collected air along with finishing the signs for the jutsu, he exhaled burning ash and cinders all over the two Ninja's, cooking them together in a thick grey cloud.

The three rear guarding Suna ANBU had to deal with what seemed like a remaining nine enemy Ninja. Kiyara found herself glancing in their direction since she had a nice high vantage point in the midst of her own fighting to see if they'd need help. As she watched them engage the enemy, she couldn't help but remark to herself as they launched a well coordinated attack with just simple Kunai.

" Sure…I suppose they aren't bad when they're all together…but as individuals…I'm kind of surprised they made ANBU…" she hushed to herself, while skirmishing her third and fourth targets.

Sandtrapper was quick to approach and force the enemy to reposition closer to Blackbird location. As the first of his enemies closed in on him, they engaged in some light taijutsu and traded a few blows. The enemy ninja was rather surprised that when he finally managed the score a blow to Sandtrappers body, it made a hard 'thunk' noise, prompting him to believe that he wore body armor. As a second Ninja came to aid the other, Sandtrapper shot forwards and wrapped his arms around him in a surprise burst of speed. The Ninja let out a loud cry as his body began to bleed out from where Sandtrapper was gripping around him, however as the first Ninja stabbed at Sandtrapper to get him to let go of his teammate, he found that Sandtrapper didn't seem to care that he had just been struck in the side with a Kunai. Suddenly, a second pair of limbs seemed to burst from his lower abdomen and wrapped themselves around the second enemy Ninja, and Sandtrapper pulled them both even closer now as the second Ninja felt blades begin to grind into his body as Sandtrapper shook the pair about, violently.

Blackbird was also quick to aggression, and moved across the terrain quickly. He released a pair of Kunai and was able to get up in the face of one of his own enemy Ninjas. While the Kunai were deflected, he was able to draw a second pair, and they began to dual with them, blocking each others blows repeatedly until they struck each other at the same time and were pressing the hard steel blades together in a power struggle. As the enemy Ninja hurled swears and threats at Blackbird, he in return opened his mouth and spit a trio of Senbons into his opponents face, ending that battle. However, with his back turned, one of the remaining enemy thought it a good opportunity to sneak in a back strike. As he implanted a Kunai into Blackbirds back, he found that Blackbird also didn't seem to respond much to the attack, seeming like he wore armor as well. With a loud clicking sound, Blackbird's head turned an entire 180 degrees, and in a quick series of hand motions, cupped his thumb and forefinger around his lips and released a gout of flames, taking out yet another enemy.

Godhands was quick to become surrounded. He fended off his three oppressor with simple Kunai and decent taijutsu skills, however as they three began to coordinate better, he found himself on a more desperate defense. In a ditch of need, he hurled a couple of his knives into the ground in front of the enemy Ninja's to back them off for a moment, however only received that much respite. As the three coordinated and charged in together while keeping him surrounded, his death seemed assured. However, the two enemy Ninjas to his rear that crossed between the location of the Kunai landed hard on the ground, seeming to trip up over their own feet. With a smirk, Godhands rolled backwards with a new pair of Kunai and imbedded them into the back of their heads before they got up. The third pressed on his attack and landed a blow into Godhands side as he stood up.

And then, in a puff of smoke, Godhands disappeared and in a substitution jutsu, was replaced by Blackbird. The Suna ANBU bend his elbow and a knife shot out from it, and with a quick turn on his heel, he slashed it across the surprised Ninja's neck.

As Shikamaru wrapped up with the Ninja's he had been fighting, he turned to Kiyara who gave him the all clear. She hopped down to his location.

" How are the Suna ANBU?" he asked her, taking off toward the rear of the Caravan.

" Good from what I can tell. A little sloppy for a trio of ANBU but they seem to work well together." she commented as she joined him.

It would only take two or three large leap to reach the back where they could meet up with the three from Suna. Blackbird and Sandtrapper approached while Godhands cleaned up.

" You guys look a little worse for wear…" Shikamaru commented, seeing the tattered clothes that the pair wore.

They looked at each other and were oddly silent, giving only a shrug in response. A loud whistle rang out through the canyon as the four of them looked around to see where it came from. Looking skyward, Blackbird saw something fall in their midst, and just before it hit, he and Sandtrapper threw themselves on Shikamaru and Kiyara, as a shrapnel bomb went off. A pair of figures began to flee from the upper canyon walls, hoping that this last attack would provide them the safety to retreat.

Once he realized what had happened, Shikamaru tried to pull himself out from under Sandtrapper, however found him surprisingly heavy.

" God damn it…" he shouted as he managed to get free.

He turned and prepared to do whatever he could to try and help out the Suna ANBU that had just saved their lives, however was more shocked to see the pair stand up silently.

" Wait…you're not…" he suddenly deduced.

" Your right. They aren't." said a strangely familiar voice.

The Suna ANBU began to shake violently as pieces of shrapnel fell out of their bodies. Their joints rattled and clanked as sand began to pour off their very skin, and Shikamaru turned around towards Godhands, who had now pulled back his hood and wore a wide grin.

" Long time no see, Shikamaru." Kankurou greeted.


	5. Caravans Return

The L Boogie- Okay so this update was a bit lengthy. I've been working (which is a good change of pace, however I've only found time to write again because…well…I'm not working again…god bless a failing economy and a job that gives me plenty of hours one week and zero hours the next…)

So yeah, I will agree with you Bonclaysfan. I really haven't given much of an antagonist…thought I'd keep things laying low, however I think this chapter might help you with that. Otherwise this one is mostly fluff. It's gonna be more of a two parter (though I didn't intend that…I just got to writing, and next thing I knew, I was at 6 pages…I usually try to stay around the 8 page marker for chapter limits, unless I won't need more than a few more pages…)

On a side note, I told her I would, so here I am. Go read 39 days by Mussim. I'm damn serious when I say this. Go read it. If you absolutely have to choose between this and 39 days…read 39 days. See this face? This is my serious face. Grrr. Now go read it. Then come back and read mine. If you can't find the story…it should be under my favorites. While your at it, go read her other stories too, if you haven't. They should also be there as well. There, my shameless plug for the moment!

Legal Jargon- I don't own Naruto. The world, the characters, the…well…everything. Except for the Author Created stuff. So don't try to sue me, cause you can't get blood from stone.

The Darkhorse: A Naruto Fan Fiction

Caravans Return

_" Why aren't we moving in?" asked a high pitched female voice._

_" Because we haven't received the signal." spoke another female voice._

_" But they're asleep. It'd be like taking candy from a baby!" spoke the first female again. _

_" Would you two knock it off?" said a more stalwart and tenor female._

_" Come on…are you serous? There's four of us! It's be two to one! We're ranked S class, they're barely A rankers. If you both have cold feet, then I'll be happy to go ahead and do it for you." the high pitched female offered._

_" I said not until we get the signal!" rasped the second female._

_Quickly, another figure shot from out of the woods at lightning speed, placing a Kunai to each of their throats with enough force to draw a couple of drops of blood._

_" I can hear you. And if I can hear you, they may too. If I don't think it's safe…then nobody moves in. Got it?" the woman hissed. _

_The two nodded fearfully and the figure released them, turning back._

_" Now I'm heading back to keep watch. If I think it's safe to move in…then I'll send the signal. Otherwise if we were to go in now, we won't come out of this unscathed. Hell, we may even see a casualty or two…and that would be bad…" she warned, turning away and heading back to her position._

_The remaining three looked between each other, then decided to spend more time trying to keep their chakra's and persons masked._

The next two days of traveling passed on uneventfully. The Caravan was successful in making it to Konohagakure with no losses or casualties to speak of. The worst that did end up happening was Kankurou making a pass at Kiyara, in which provoked a strong rejection to the point where they were ready to kill one another. Thankfully, Shikamaru was there to prevent such an occurrence and scolded them both for their behavior before he released them from his Shadow Possession Jutsu. Kiyara's excuse was that Kankurou came off as demeaning and untoward. Kankurou simply stated that she was a cold bitch who had no sense of taste in men.

Their testimonials were probably both true, Shikamaru thought. As they neared the city, they exchanged guard duties, leaving Kiyara alone in the front while Shikamaru and Kankurou brought up the rear of the Caravan, allowing them more time to talk as old friends.

" God, I can't wait to get back. You two are driving me insane…" said the Shadow Nin in a drawl voice.

" You seem to think that this whole mess is my fault." Kankurou responded with a huff.

" If you hadn't put your hand where you had and made an out and out pass at her, things would be nice and calm. Who knows…maybe you'd have even had a chance with her." Shikamaru accused.

" What the hell is wrong with that? All I did was put my arm around her, tell her she was cute, and asked her if she wanted to come have a drink with me once we got back." the Suna Nin defended.

" It'd be one thing if you had just put your arm around her. But you know how women are Kankurou, and I know how you are. Hands at the small of the back. Just think of it like the equator. Definitely not much above, and definitely not much below…and I heard you were heading a little far south for comfort." he chided.

" Tch…that little skirt thing was coming up, I swear…I was just going to try and smooth it down before she embarrassed herself." Kankurou lied with a big grin.

" I swear…" Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head.

" So how's my sister been? We haven't had much time to talk." the Suna Nin asked, his expression and voice now a bit more serious, if not also with a hint of compassion.

" She's doing well enough I suppose. I assume you read the report that Hokage-sama sent?" responded the spiky haired ambassador.

" Well yeah. But that's all official business. I'm talking about a more personal thing. Besides myself and Gaara, your probably the next closest person to her. I'd imagine she'd talk to you about stuff." elaborated the Puppet Ninja.

" Let's see…she hurt her shoulder…but Tsunade took care of the injury and I helped her with some of the soreness. Otherwise she's pretty fit to go. Any of her injuries have already been taken care of. I told her that if she has any other troubles, to go see Hinata." Shikamaru answered.

" Hmmm…Hinata…which one is that again?" Kankurou asked, trying his best to put a face to the name.

" The shy Hyuuga. Timid with long black hair, those platinum eyes…uhhh…" Shikamaru described, trying to really give him a better picture.

He realized then that even though he knew what Hinata looked like, she had such little presence that even he had a hard time putting a proper description to her.

" Not really getting much, but I'm sure my sister would remember her." shrugged the black suited Shinobi.

" Well your sister is the smart one…" Shikamaru jested.

" What the hell does that mean?" Kankurou growled.

The other Shinobi laughed as the Puppeteer grew more frustrated. At a glance, Shikamaru and Kankurou didn't seem like they could be anything less than begrudging teammates, however they both understood the simple nuances of how each other worked. For Kankurou, Shikamaru was about effort. He wanted to put as little in, and never really wanted to know more than he needed to, unless it was serious. And that was fine, as Kankurou didn't really mind. They could have a drink, talk a bit, and nothing had to be complicated and few things needed any real explanation. Simply put, there would be no hard feelings if one party was offended, and neither cared to pry too far into the others affairs.

For Shikamaru, Kankurou was a man all about respect. He liked to play the role of a tough guy, and for the most part, fell into Shikamaru's overall expectations for a man. Though he had a tendency to be rather rough around the edges, Kankurou was very much a man who did deserve respect. So all Shikamaru had to do was just maintain a healthy respect with the man, and nothing went wrong and nothing got complicated.

Though, they did love to ruffle each others feathers.

" So are you taking good care of my sister?" Kankurou shot back at Shikamaru with a grin.

" Why am I suddenly her keeper?" Shikamaru argued, now becoming frustrated in return.

" Oh, I dunno. Heard some crazy rumors about you two. You guys ever gonna get married? You'll need to speak with Gaara though…and that's something that you'll have to do on your own." Kankurou joked, now turning the tables on his Leaf friend.

" Look, nothing is going on. I keep telling people that. And why would you care?" Shikamaru asked, his voice reflecting irritation.

" I'm her brother. It's only natural that I would. But seriously, if you hurt her…I'll kill you." he spoke in an eerily serious tone.

The two shared a moment of silence as their eyes met one another, until Kankurou's expression broke and he let out a loud laugh.

" God I love that look on your face, you lazy old man. Seems that things are as slow as ever with you two. I figure I'll give her some hell about it once I get to the embassy, then see who else is in town. Kiba owes me a drink and I intend to collect!" Kankurou boomed.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Shikamaru sighed again. Kankurou was a good friend, if not a little obnoxious from time to time.

Finally, the Caravan entered Konoha, just as the afternoon sun was low in the sky. Waiting at the gates was none other than Temari, who wore a sour expression on her face. Kiyara stopped for only a moment and exchanged words and mission details with the guard while Temari wadded through the small sea of her country men and women, until she found the person she was looking for. Before he had a chance to escape, a powerful hand reached out and grabbed Shikamaru's collar, pulling him close for a point blank scolding.

" I swear…I'm never going to entrust any task to you ever again!" Temari spat.

" Why? What's wrong this time?" he whined, trying to break her vice grip.

" You were supposed to have all the vendor sites cleared. It took me half a day to go through your crap paperwork and chicken scratch handwriting to find out that you only had cleared the ones that Anko had signed on four day ago. What…did you not have the insight to think that maybe there would be more vendors? God damn it Shikamaru…I had to get the construction crews to take down half the attractions and move them. I had to round up all my security people to help out, which means that we're going to be over budget for the extra work. Did you ever think that maybe this would be a successful festival? Huh? DID THAT THOUGHT EVER CROSS YOUR ENORMOUS PINAPPLE SHAPED HEAD?" she raged.

" Uhhh…hey sis…" Kankurou greeted meekly.

She shot him an angry glare, which told him to keep his mouth shut. Despite being her bother, and being bigger than her, there was something dwarfing about his big sister that he could just never put his finger on. Shikamaru glanced away as Temari continued to explode with insults and threats, sighing as she began to shake him violently when it became clear that he was simply not in a mood to care.

It was like throwing water on a grease fire.

A half an hour later, Shikamaru, Anko, and Temari, whom which were accompanied by Kankurou and Kiyara were all gathered in Tsunade's office. Shikamaru was nursing a growing sore under his left eye with a bag of ice while Temari refused to sit next to him in the office. Kiyara took the lead in reporting the Caravan mission.

" The trip to the meeting point went as predicted. No trouble what so ever. On the night of the meeting, we were attacked by what we believe to be Rogue Ninja's, as Shikamaru had predicted, based on intelligence from the Suna ANBU, Kankurou." she stated, taking a hard glance at the aforementioned Suna ANBU, giving him the opportunity to speak.

" Yeah…we had been tracking the movements of a small band of Rogue Shinobi. About twenty five in number roughly. Seems that they had caught wind of the Caravan and wanted to do some looting. We dealt with the bulk of them, however it seems their leader and a couple of his subordinates escaped unharmed." he explained.

The Hokage sighed heavily, placing a pair of fingers on the bridge of her nose in order to relieve herself of some physical stress.

" Okay…so everyone got here safe and sound, right? Then lets have a report on the progress of the festival. Anko…you were in charge of Vendor conscription. How did it go?" the elder woman asked.

" Ma'am. I was able to sign on eighty seven vendors from Konoha, as well as thirteen from Suna. Business and profit margins have been discussed, as well as necessary taxations." she spout in cadence.

" Good work. Temari, you were in charge of security. Are we set for tomorrow?" Tsunade asked, her attention redirecting to the blond.

" Very well. I have fourteen Jounin and thirty three Chunin stationed as guards. Numerous Genin are being employed to help in directing and organizing the crowds just in case. I also have a handful of ANBU on hand for added weight in the event of emergency." the aforementioned blond reported.

" And you Shikamaru? I assume a schedule of events as well as coordination was well in order?" the tall blond asked, now directing her gaze his way.

" Yes Ma'am. All's ready for tomorrow." he stated, not really filling in any details.

Her eyes adjusted hard, piercing into him sharply.

" What the hell happened to your face?" she asked.

He took a glance at Temari, who returned the glance with a smug grin.

" I was playing Janken with Temari. A word of advice…if she picks rock, don't beat her…" he jested, causing her to redden slightly in anger.

After giving herself a moment to appraise the situation, Tsunade looked directly at Temari.

" So we're ready to go tomorrow night?" she asked.

" Yes Ma'am. Decorations are up. Attractions in place. Security hand picked. Events planned and coordinated. Vendors are already getting their booths situated…it's all on schedule and ready for tomorrow." she stated.

" Good. Then you're all dismissed." the Hokage announced.

As they all stood up, the older blond reach out and caught Shikamaru by the wrist.

" Hold on…I have this note for you. Your mother wanted me to make sure you got this." she said, while Shikamaru's expression seemed to darken slightly.

He unfolded it and began to read it as he slowly walked out of the office.

_Shikamaru,_

_Your father is on an important mission, and I myself am needed in a nearby town to tend to some family business on my side of the family. Now, I know you just got back, but someone has to take care of those deer. I'll be back tomorrow night, so I expect you to have made sure everything is all clear._

_You had better behave yourself at the festival young man…_

He sighed as he continued reading it, not really minding his footstep, until he bumped into Shizune out in the reception area of the office. Hearing the untimely thump of the middle aged woman, he immediately let go of the paper, and offered her his hand. Seeing her sprawled out on the ground the way she was in her robe made him feel terrible. It was only made worse when she tried to stand up on her own.

" No…I can do this Shikamaru…" she said meekly, slowly pushing herself off of her rear and now into a prostrate position.

The Shadow Nin knelt down and offered her his hand again, however she shook her head.

" Please let me try Shikamaru…" she said, as she lurched her body forward onto her hands and began to push herself up.

Her arms strained as she tried to pull one of her legs forward and plant her foot firmly on the ground. Though her form was shaky, she was successful in making it to this kneeling position. Unfortunately, getting her other leg up would prove more difficult. Throwing as much strength as she could muster into her arms, she again lurched her weight forwards and tried to bring her other knee up, unsteadily guiding her leg into a position to set her foot down squarely. Just as she had almost succeeded in standing, her knee buckled and she began to collapse.

Thankfully, Shikamaru was there to catch her, and with his help, she steadied herself and he raised her back to her feet.

" I was so close this time…oh well I guess. Thank you Shikamaru…" she said, very congenially.

Despite the smile he gave and a quick wave good bye, he felt an overwhelming pity for her. Had it not been for Tsunade, Shizune would have remained lost to the world. Though Shikamaru did not fully know the details of what happened and how Tsunade saved her, he had uncovered enough evidence to suggest that Tsunade was only able to revive Shizune through some arrangement she made with Orochimaru. While he didn't know much else, he had decided to keep his mouth shut on his discoveries, and instead did a little tampering to ensure that no one else would figure it out.

However, having your Soul ripped from your body was in the very least, taxing to an individual. Since then, Shizune became very frail and weak. Her Chakra didn't work for her most of the time, and she was practically without strength. But still she tried very hard, and was still a figurehead of knowledge when it came to medical Jutsu. In fact, Shikamaru learned most of his medical Jutsu from her, since she was the only medical Nin he liked dealing with, as well as just an overall pleasant woman. It was hard to imagine that she was once a rather formidable Shinobi on par with most Jounin.

Once getting outside, he made his rounds through the village. First stop was the library, where he knew he would find Kasumi, and her guardian. Being his Genin, he had an intimate knowledge of their lives. Kasumi preferred to keep her life as private as possible, considering that she bore a heavy burden of sadness, having lost her parents at a very young age. Often times, a guardian was appointed to children who had no parents, especially in the case of those who's parents were also Shinobi. Very few exceptions existed, such as the case of Naruto, whom which most of the villagers had bore an unfair hatred.

As he walked into the large double doors of the library, he was greeted with numerous nods from the staff, as he was well known for spending some time in here when he was doing research for Cryptology. He navigated the book shelves and halls with ease, until he came into a clearing where he found Kasumi seated in a chair, looking over a book on Trapping strategies. Sensing him enter, she stood upright as he approached.

" Sensei…I wasn't expecting you here." she stated in surprise.

" Yeah…I just got back. So where's the old guy?" he asked with a smirk.

" What old guy are you talking about, Nara? I certainly hope you don't mean me." Ibiki interjected, standing only a few inches behind Shikamaru, " You're the only 'Old Guy' around here."

" Hey there, Morino. I'm just paying Kasumi a visit. I'll be hitting up Kinta and Karin afterwards." Shikamaru revealed.

" I see. It's been a while Shikamaru, how has Kasumi's training been going?" Ibiki asked gingerly.

" She's doing fine, despite those personality quirks that rubbed off from you onto her. Maybe if I had a lazier Genin, I'd have more time on my hands. But I suppose I could say the same about Karin." the spiky haired Jounin joked.

" Good. Despite your age, you're a good teacher Nara. I'll be looking forward to seeing her progress in this years Chunin exams." he stated proudly, almost as if he were her real parent.

" I suspect she'll do just fine. Now then, I guess I should get onto my business. Kasumi…tomorrow night is the festival. My goal is to leave in three days. We'll be gone for a month at least, so make sure your bags are packed. I wanna leave in the morning. The sooner we get to Suna, the better." he commanded.

" I'm all ready to go Sensei. I packed my bags last night." she said with a slight military pep, which Shikamaru figured was only there since she was in front of Ibiki.

" Well…good. Then I'm off to find Kinta. Please tell me you know where I might find him?" her Sensei asked, not wanting to go on another manhunt to find the young man.

" No, but I need to talk with him anyways. You want me to inform him?" Kasumi asked.

" Good, that'll help. I'm going to be busy with some family affairs to take care of, so I don't have a lot of time." he admitted.

" I see. Taking care of the deer again?" she asked.

" Yeah. And quickly…are you going to be at the festival?" he added, knowing the girl was somewhat antisocial as well as not well liked among most the other kids her age.

" Oh…well I wasn't…but Karin is forcing me to go. So I figure I'll drag Kinta along too. I shouldn't have to suffer alone after all." she finished with a slight grin.

Shikamaru let out a soft laugh as he left, waving to his Genin and her Guardian. Without the need to track down Kinta, he headed for the practice fields where, sure enough, he found Karin.

" Karin…" he called out.

His voice calling out her name caught onto her ears instantly, and tripped her up in mid stride. Before she landed face first into the training post, a trio of shadowy tendrils stopped her, and set her back on balance. Upon reaching her position, she turned to him and bowed, trying to hide her flush of embarrassment.

" Thank you Sensei, and I'm glad to see that you're back!" she said, cheerfully as always.

" It's good to see you too Karin. How's your training going?" he asked.

" Not bad, but I'm trying to tie a couple of movements together, however they don't end up following fast enough. Whenever I do them, I almost fall over and the second blow never lands where I want it to. Could you help me with it?" she begged.

He gave a nod, and watched as she took a couple of steps back. Taking her typical pose with her fans drawn and in the closed position, she took a fast and wide step forward and brought both of the fans down hard where the targets shoulders and collar bone would be. Then, spinning on her left heel, she brought her right heel around to cross against the first attack. Immediately the problem was noticeable to Shikamaru, as there was a lengthy delay between her attacks, which any Ninja would be able to capitalize on. The combo was a good trick, especially when trying to pressure an opponent, however failed to deliver.

" Do it again." he instructed, and she followed.

As she spun around, he caught her, holding her by her outstretched arms and right knee.

" You stick your arms out too much, creating an awkward balance for the speed your looking to rotate. Try instead to cross your arms as you begin to turn. Do it quickly and you'll create additional momentum. Then, once you bring the right heel to cross against the first blow, invert the stick lengths so that you've only got a few inches to the top, then thrust them straight towards the target as your right heel begins to land." he analyzed.

With a nod, she began again, taking the broad first step with her left foot as lead. Bringing the pair of clasped fans down onto the targets shoulder and chest area, she was quick cross her arms and invert the way she held the fans as she spun on her left heel and brought the right to strike along the same zone as the first attack, then as her right heel landed, she took the stumpy ends of the fans that she had so well choked up on, and thrust them into the same zone for a doubling blow that would even affect someone wearing armor.

" Good work. Now I need to talk to you for just a minute, then you can continue doing that for the next half hour." he stated, garnering the girls completely undivided attention, " Now then, in three days, we'll be leaving for Suna. I want you to have your stuff packed and ready to go on that morning. Got it?" he asked.

" Of course Sensei. I'll make sure that Kinta is packed and ready to go too." she offered.

" That's good, I suppose. Though I feel like maybe he shouldn't have to let you ladies do all his work for him." he mused.

" Oh, he'll do the work. I'll just make sure to remember." she beamed.

" That's good then. Guess that's all I have for you Karin." he said, turning to leave, until she caught his sleeve.

He turned back around and gave her a quizzical look.

" Something else you wanted to ask me about?" he asked the girl.

" Err…yeah. Hey Sensei…what are you doing for the festival tomorrow?" she asked.

" What? Oh…I dunno…I wasn't really planning on going." he admitted.

" R…really?" her voice asked while deflating.

" Not my kind of thing usually. Is there a reason you wanted to know?" he pried.

" Well…I thought that since the rest of us are going together…I was hoping that you could come with us to. Even if it's just for a little while…" she revealed, holding back her embarrassment as much as she could.

He stared at her for a minute, allowing his thoughts to collect as he gave her words consideration. Finally, he sighed in defeat.

" Okay…fine. But just for a little bit." he offered.

" Yay!" Karin cheered, leaping onto him in an embrace.

He rarely allowed her to embrace him, however would indulge her once in a while, only to make her happy and nothing more. Finally able to part from her, he was quick to head back towards his apartment, looking forward to a hot shower and a short bout of relaxation before he tended to the deer that evening.

Of course, Shikamaru could never quite have everything just the way he wanted it.

Standing there, in front of the door to his apartment complex, was the blond Suna Nin in which made his heart race slightly, and his head ache more so.

" You better not be here to scold me some more. I already said I was sorry." he shot, trying to get past her.

Taking a quick step, she impeded his movement, allowing their bodies to clash briefly.

" I'm not here to scold you. I actually wanted to speak with you…" she asked, her voice trailing off slightly.

" Well, I'm pretty busy right now. I've got a hot shower to take and some paperwork to fill. Can't this wait until tomorrow?" he said in his drawl tone.

Deep down, he didn't really mind…but after socking him in the face earlier, he wasn't about to just roll over for this woman.

" Well it is important, and I'd prefer to get it taken care of before tomorrow." she shot

" Troublesome…Fine. I know I've shown you where the entrance to the Nara family woods is. You do remember it, right?" he asked.

" Don't patronize me Shikamaru, I know where your damn forest is…" she badgered in return.

" Good. Then meet me there around seven. I have work to do, but as long as we keep our voices down everything should be fine. And whatever you do, don't go into the woods without me. There are special seals and all sorts of nasty traps designed for outsiders who are not welcome. Got it?" he asked, pointedly.

With a simple nod, she let him pass finally, and he disappeared into the building to go take a little time and relax before his duties this evening.


	6. Woodland Battlefield, part 1

The L Boogie- So sorry about the lengthy update time. I've been busy with work…which is a good thing since I haven't had much of that. Yay for being able to pay bills!

Part of me is unsatisfied with this chapter. Maybe it's because I've had to split it in two…but there's something amiss I think. I'll post it for now because I can't think of what else I need to do or add…but maybe I'm just being to critical. Either way, here's a two parter for ya.

Once I get these next two chapters out of the way, that'll be the end of my first story arc. Or at least by the notes I've made to myself. I'm excited as I've opened up a bit of a gold mine of ideas recently, so maybe I'm just wishing to get through some of this stuff so that I can get to it and share such ideas with all of you.

Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy this. And don't forget to drop me a review!

Legal Jargon- I don't own Naruto. The world, the characters, the…well…everything. Except for the Author Created stuff. So don't try to sue me, cause you can't get blood from stone.

The Darkhorse: A Naruto Fan Fiction

Woodland Battlefield, part 1

For Temari, waiting on Shikamaru was both a time honored tradition, as well as a severe waste of time. At the designated entrance point of the Forest, Temari sat on a small stump of a tree, watching the afternoon sky fade into a twilight. Gazing upwards at the moon and stars, she allowed her thoughts to wander, giving thought to the words she was going to have with him.

A half an hour passed and she sighed heavily, feeling a growing irritation over take her . She had given some thought to just going into the forest and seeing if he was already inside. Giving it more thought, she remembered the warning he gave her when he first brought her by the forest.

" _Do not go in there. Never go in there. These are my Family's woods and are protected by a variety of Seals and Wards. The only way you could enter safely is for you to be with the member of the Nara Clan. Otherwise you'll become the victim of the forest. For anyone to just enter and make it through safely, they'd have to be one hell of a Shinobi."_

She huffed, staring into the dimly lit forest while resisting the urge to discover for herself what kinds of traps lay in wait for those who are uninvited. Finally, after fifteen more minutes, a lanky Shinobi swaggered up to the Suna Ambassadors side.

" Your late." she scolded.

" Sorry about that." he said with a yawn, his face still slightly sleepy eyed.

" I'm still trying to figure out how you became a Jounin." she snarked with a grin.

" You were there…Don't you remember my fantastic and amazing victory? Only two of us passed after all." he reminded with a smirk.

" Yeah yeah. The Jounin exam gets easier and easier every year…" the blond jested, garnering an eyebrow raising from her friend.

" So are you ready to go yet?" he asked, insinuating her fault for the time of day.

In a sound of disbelief, the Suna Nin nodded her head.

" Sure. Just lead the way and don't get us lost." the woman shot.

The Nara took a lead and was the first to step into the woods, then motioned for his friend to follow. Temari cautiously made her approach, distrusting of the forest. Shikamaru made no signs, nor did he make any kind of announcements to ensure her. Still, she did trust him after all, so after a few minutes of walking through the trees, her nerves calmed.

" So these are the famed Nara woods huh? I kind of expected a little more…" she spoke.

" Oh, this is just the fringe. You can still see outside the woods…unless you are some amateur Shinobi. Then the first ward kicks in and you'll quickly find yourself wandering the fringe for hours, until it spits you out on the same side you entered in on." he explained.

" Sounds like a low level Genjutsu…" she analyzed.

" Yep. It's so that anyone who just wanders in aimlessly, or anyone without the ability to dispell Genjutsu gets out unharmed. Anyone who can break through that barrier is probably intent on something." he responded.

" So what other nasty surprises do you have in here?" Temari asked, feeling a slight chill up her spine.

" Sorry…I can't really divulge too much more right now. Gotta keep some of this secret." he stated.

She shrugged it off, understanding that some of his family secrets were probably buried or sealed here. As they continued further in, the trees became larger and larger, gaining in both size and girth. A solid forty five minutes of walking and exchanging friendly pleasantries and bickering, and they were walking amongst giant red oaks. Her eyes were wide with amazement at the enormity of the trees, and with her knowledge of how large the forest was supposed to be, they were maybe a quarter way in.

Finally, they came to a small clearing, where they found a small group of deer. Shikamaru held his hand out to her and signaled her to stop. Not making any movements, she watched on as he slowly approached, amazed at his bravery. Sure, while they were just deer, the Stag at the forefront was tremendous. Standing a good foot and a half over Shikamaru, it towered forwards as the young Nara stepped up to greet it. Holding his hand out, it took a moment to garner it's trust and allowed the large creature to take in his scent. Once it had affirmed who he was, it calmly turned aside.

He reached up and took a strong hold on it's large antlers and pulled it's head downwards. It complied and allowed him to inspect it. After taking inventory of it's growth, he walked slowly around the animal and inspected it's health now. He felt along it's rib cage, then the creatures spine. Checking the neck, and then the lower legs, and finally around it's genitals. Despite his best attempts, his face almost always soured when he did this, and Temari was unable to completely stifle a laugh at the sight of his expression. Finally finished with his inspection, he let the creature go, handing it a small treat from pouch.

He turned and motioned to her.

" Come on. Just come up slowly." he said in a hushed tone.

She walked up cautiously until she was at his side. Taking her by the wrist, he led her up to the rest of the pack. Since his scent was intermingled with her own, it gave the deer more reason to trust her, however to do so cautiously. A Doe and a Fawn approached, and with his guidance, allowed her to pet them gently. She stroked the head and nose of the Fawn, gently caressing the small stubs for antlers it was growing. A wide, cheeky smile began to run across her lips as her eyes softened, and for one of those very few and rare times, Shikamaru saw how gentle of a woman she could be.

For his own sake, he thanked the heavens that it was dark and that she was preoccupied. Otherwise she might have caught him staring, or at least the blush he was beginning to glow with.

Letting go and turning away, he decided to make some small talk and take advantage of this rare and strikingly appeasing moment.

" So…what did you want to talk to me for?" he asked.

She was so enamored with the deer that she almost didn't hear him. Temari took a step towards the smaller animal and placed her arm around it's neck, scratching it gently while turning her attention towards her companion.

" This place is amazing. I know I haven't spent a lot of time in forests, but to me they've all looked the same until now. Who knew it…" she remarked, still smiling, though her features falling back to her more usual sharpness.

" It's a special place. There's a lot to these woods after all. The antlers from the dear provide a strong counter agent to the different types of food pills, as well as for just good general medicinal purposes. Many types of plant life grow here a well." he explained, leaning over into a nearby bush and picking something out of it, " These berries here? They're as tough as leather on the outside, but the juice from them makes for a good antiseptic."

She nodded, taking a glance around at some of the other wildlife. The light had faded and they were only guiding themselves by the moonlight that shined through the canopy of the trees.

" So how was the caravan mission?" she asked.

" You want the report version that I had to file? Or just a quick once over?" he asked in return.

" Just tell me about the damn mission." she commanded light heartedly.

" Nothing to talk about on the way there. Kiyara was quiet for most of the first day, thank god." he remarked.

" You two getting along better?" she asked, innocently enough.

" I suppose. I still don't like her…but she's something else, I'll say that much. Once we got there, we met up with Kankurou, who has mastered the art of 'God Hands' or whatever the hell it was. Didn't find out it was him and his puppets until after the fighting that night. Once the caravan was settled, we took places all around, and before we had to finally set up a watch, the Rogue Ninja's came. We dispatched most of them, but I think their leader and a couple of his buddies got out of there. Afterwards, Kankurou revealed himself and we headed home without further incident. Oh…and Kankurou made a pass at Kiyara…which she slapped him for. And that about covers it." he spoke.

The Suna woman gave a slight chuckle at the end, knowing full well about her younger brothers tact with the female species.

" So are you ready for the trip out to Suna? It'll be your first time, right?" she asked with a smirk.

" Why? Planning to be my tour guide and get me lost?" he retorted with a smile.

" That'd be too easy. Though I remember the first time you had to chauffeur me around Konoha. Maybe I'll get you back for that travesty." she laughed.

Shikamaru was grinning widely now, which was a little unusual for him. But he always liked these times with her. They could have an intelligent conversation, then turn around and just poke fun at each other. In short, he just liked being around her. Suddenly, the gravity of their situation dawned on him, and the weight of the knowledge that the two of them were alone, together, in the woods, at night, fell upon his chest. Self consciousness descended over him and he began to stumble over his words.

" So…" he began to say, though his tongue was failing him.

He had a topic, or at least a sentence, but his mind blanked and he was left staring back at her looking about as cool as Naruto did when he won that Genin Olympics some years ago. Her gaze pierced through him as a smirk began to creep across her face. He was becoming flustered and she was elated to know this.

" So…what? Cat got your tongue? Cause that'd be a first." she joked.

" Shut up…it's nothing. My mouth's dry and it makes it hard to talk." he whined, giving some kind of excuse.

Temari's gaze on him could penetrate his excuse, so he decided to just try and get it out.

" So…what are you doing for the festival?" he asked, a little shakily.

" What kind of question is that?" she asked with a barb of sarcasm.

" Never knew there were different kinds of questions. Well I guess this goes under the curious nature. But seriously, are you going to the festival tomorrow evening?" he asked, straightly.

" I suppose so." she stated nonchalantly, then she flashed her teeth through her smirk, " Why?"

He opened his mouth, hoping his brain would come up with the words to match the speed of his speech, however since the first thing out of his mouth was nothing more than a lengthy " Uhhh", he found himself rubbing the back of his neck hoping to come up with something.

A twinge of anticipation shot through her body, as her mind raced to put words to his body language.

" Temari…" he began, before his eyes widened suddenly.

Immediately, the Fawn in her arms stirred, as well a the rest of the deer that had gathered. The large buck rounded up the Fawn, forcing Temari back in an intimidating display. The sudden bout of chaos gave her a chill of confusion, for which she took a couple of quick steps to Shikamaru's side in order to seek some sort of confirmation.

" Shikamaru…what's going on?" she asked straightly.

" Intruders. They've entered the forest and are making their way here quickly…" he said, looking away as if he was in some estranged contact with the forest itself.

" How do you know?" she asked.

" Anytime someone gets through the Genjutsu barrier, we Nara's know it. At this point, the forest will track them for me. However it seems that there's six of them…and they're moving fast." he said, with almost a hint of panic, " If you ask me…they're S ranked. At least most of them. The wards will do what they can, but I don't suspect they'll take too much fight out of any of them. Especially if they're working together."

" Then we need to get out of here." Temari suggested, giving a tug at Shikamaru's sleeve.

He nodded and the pair began to beat a steady retreat. Despite the speed they were traveling at, his face only seemed to grimace more.

" They're catching up. This is ridiculous…there's no way they should be traveling this quickly. One of them has to be a tracker, or some kind of wilderness expert." he summarized.

" So what do we do? Stand and fight? Because even I won't take my chances with that." said the blond.

He took only a moment to think, while being chided by Temari about taking too long in coming up with something.

" Alright…you head that way. And don't stop either. Get out of the wood and go inform Tsunade. Get her, then get Kakashi, and then anyone else you can think of after that. Tell them what's going on!" he commanded.

" But what about you? You can't fight them, you won't even be much of a distraction…" she protested.

" I've got a couple of cards to play still. These are Nara woods after all. Hopefully that'll buy enough time. If not…I've got one other trick I can try…" he said, trailing off.

He sounded rather grave for that last part, lending the young woman to feeling of dread.

" What could you possibly have that could hold them off?" she grilled.

Shikamaru gave her a hard shove in the direction he instructed her in.

" GO!" he shouted.

His voice was booming and so commanding at that point that her body gave it authority and took over before her mind could protest it anymore. He turned and made preparations to intercept the Shinobi as Temari made a B line for the edge of the woods. Before long, the unknown assailants were within a few minutes of Shikamaru's position, and so he made a series of hand signs to activate seals in his area.

_What are they after? What the hell is so important that it took this many of them to go in? Are they after Hidan? But only Tsunade, Ino, and Choji know about that. No one else should know…_

His mind raced on as other thoughts flew through his mind.

_They're not poachers. Moving too fast. They aren't fleeing anything, cause there's nothing chasing them. They couldn't be after…no. Absolutely not. Only a small handful of people know that it's here…_

Unfortunately he didn't have anymore time to think, as he stood out in the open, a quintet of Shinobi dropped from out of the tree's and in front of him. He scanned them with his eyes, taking a head count and comparing it to the information fed to him by the forest. Shikamaru's gaze pierced the area as he searched for the sixth Shinobi that had entered into the forest uninvited.

Two women, and three men. Of the three men, two of them looked and dressed in a similar fashion to the Rogue Ninjas that they had encountered back in the Land of Wind. They carried no real mark, nor did they give off any sort of large chakra signal. A quick assumption of them would be that they were the subordinates of the man standing slightly in front of them, whom Shikamaru recognized from the Bingo Book as Takoro Yashimanji.

The man was tall, probably a good few inches over Shikamaru's head. Gray colored skin and thinning brown hair that hung down to his shoulders with a utility belt strapped across his bare chest. Other than a pair of black pants, he wore a pair of black gloves with large metal studs in the knuckles. His face was thick with a strong chin that jutted forwards and had a wide, ugly nose. His eyes were the color of solid granite, and his lips were stretched into a frown upon seeing Shikamaru.

Shikamaru also recognized the two females. One was from the Bingo book, while the other was the daughter of an aristocratic family from out of Kirigakure.

The woman he knew from the Bingo book was Juunko the Shinagami, known well for her use of a large scythe and vicious nature. Her hair was midnight blue, though at night like this, it was hard to distinguish from the darkness. It was dressed up and held together with a pair of hair pins, though was still long enough to hang down to her shoulders. Similar to Yashimanji, she had pale skin, although it was not gray in pigmentation. She bore a sharp chin and slightly narrow eyes, while her brows sloped steeply. Her whole body was covered up in a stealthy jumpsuit, aiding only in making her more difficult to see.

And then there was the large scythe that was attached along her back by a small harness, but that was probably her most obvious feature.

The second woman hunched down in a beast like nature, with both hands and toes pressed firmly on the ground. Her name was Seiko Uwatari, of the Uwatari house in Kirigakure, very comparable in stature to the Hyuuga in Konoha. The first thing he had to notice about her was that she wore a pair of long brown gloves with small claws protruding from the fingertips. Attached at her wrists were a pair of thick blades with a harness attaching along her arms in order to make them extend. With short red hair and her face hidden behind paint, he could make out nothing more than her shreds of clothing that she wore underneath a large animal skin cloak. A gleam from her face revealed a small pair of fangs, reminding him of Kiba.

Other than the two subordinates, these were all S class Shinobi, and likely so was hidden sixth.

_I can bet that Yashimanji and his subordinates are here to kill me…but why are these other three here? Maybe they don't suspect that I'm aware of their other member hiding out in those tree's over there. Seems like that knowledge is the only thing that's going for me right now. Guess I should try and buy some time._

" Are you guys lost?" the Shadow Nin asked while standing relaxed.

" Just a little camping expedition." stated Juunko.

" I see. Well, I'll ask that you leave. These are my families woods…and no one is allowed here. Sorry…it's just kind of how it goes…" he stated nonchalantly.

" Enough of this nonsense. I'll make you pay for what you did to us back at the border!" shouted Yashimanji as he tightened his fists.

" Oh…so that was your little gang? Sorry about that. A good friend of mine runs a flower shop…maybe I can send something nice as an apology?" Shikamaru goaded, trying to come up with a strategy.

The large man grit his teeth as the muscles in his body bulged. As he prepared to strike, Seiko spoke up.

" Now Yashimanji…you're working for us." she reminded him, standing up off her hands and more like a normal human being, " We need this one alive for now."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he took in the comment.

_They need information from me. I suppose that should be no surprise…but what is it that they're looking for…_

" Alive huh?" he asked.

" No way! We want revenge!" shouted the first subordinate as he drew a Kunai and lunged for the spiky haired Jounin.

While he cleared the distance quickly, Shikamaru was able to parry off the Kunai by grabbing the mans own hand and giving it a strong twist to the left. With a strong jerk afterwards, he could feel the elbow dislocate from the socket, and with a quick spin while still grappling his arm, Shikamaru tossed him aside, and with a quick hand sign, a pool of quicksand appeared and devoured the man.

" I know I may not look like much, but give me a little credit." he replied with a frown, keeping an eye on the other subordinate and Yashimanji, who seemed to be seething at this point.

" My my. I guess the rumors about you being o skilled are true. No matter. We'll take you and that's that." said Juunko as she brought her scythe around, " I'm sure you know who I am little boy. So how about you make this real easy and come along quietly. Who knows…if your good…I'll give you a little treat."

Shikamaru sighed, and carefully reached into his pocket to pull out his cigarettes. As he lit it, he saw a flash of steel approach, prompting him to take a quick step backwards, just in time for it to narrowly miss him and split his cigarette down the middle.

" Jeez…can't you even let a guy enjoy his smokes?" he asked as he picked up the ruined tobacco product and tried to make it fit back together.

" Enough!" shouted Yashimanji again as he shot forwards, being trailed quickly by his subordinate.

Now having to be serious, Shikamaru opted to draw backwards in hopes to avoid the powerful fists of the Taijutsu master. Raising his hands, Shikamaru made a brief hand sign, then immediately a wooden log swung down from the tree's behind him, impacting into the pugilist. To his dismay, it shattered against his bare chest, garnering a wily grin from the powerful man.

" I am the same as the mountains. No manner of attack shall graze me in such a manner, puny man!" he shouted as he continued forwards.

Taking to the air now, Shikamaru leapt for a nearby branch while still under pursuit, however caught the glinting of the long blade of Juunko's scythe awaiting him, and so made another hand sign causing a vine to drop down for him to swing away on. Swinging through the air and being tailed now by the three Shinobi, he realized that Seiko was nowhere to be seen, although the forest gave away her location to being almost overhead. Her shadow swooped across the ground, much faster than everyone else, and before her claws would descend on him, Shikamaru made another hand sign and a tree branch just happened to whip outwards and knock the woman a dozen yards back.

Deciding that stealth would have to be key here, he dropped a couple of smoke bombs to confuse his pursuers as he took refuge among the trees. Once the smoke cleared, the four Shinobi glanced around for his whereabouts.

" Not bad. But we don't have to see you to find you." Juunko called out, bringing her scythe around and cutting through a pair of large trees. As they fell, Yashimanji leapt up and gave them both a strong kick, breaking them into splinters in an amazing display. The second subordinate looked around, then began to make a series of hand signs. Recognizing a fire style, Shikamaru was quick to spring another trap, and with a hand sign to counter, the ground below the man gave out, and he dropped into a very deep pit.

" I see we have ourselves a real man of the wilderness. It doesn't matter though. They're just slowing us down anyways…" Seiko called, slicing through some nearby bushes in their search.

The earthen skinned man turned to his ally and was quick to get in her face.

" Do not discredit my men! They were brave and strong!" he declared.

" Brave, strong, and dead. Don't forget that." she stated in challenge.

Yashimanji reached down and took the woman by her throat and gave it a gentle squeeze, then loomed forwards in an intimidation effort.

" It's your fault this has happened. You provided us with inadequate information on this job! Now because of you my men are dead! What do you have to say for yourself?" he growled.

" We paid you for a job, and you'll do it. They lost their lives because they were weak and careless." Seiko goaded with a grin.

While they began to internally fight amongst themselves, Shikamaru took a moment to activate his Shadow Sewing technique, allowing his shadowy tentacles to travel slowly along the ground. He directed them to swarm around the area as quiet as he could, in order to attempt a flanking maneuver.

" Enough. If you wont come out…" Junko called, pulling back her scythe, " I'll just have to clear the area! Massive Harvesting Slice!"

As the blade of her weapon came back around, it seemed to grow in width as she swung it recklessly. While Seiko jumped out of it's way, the blade slammed into Yashimanji, knocking him down, however not seeming to be able to pierce his skin. The attack wasn't large enough to reach Shikamaru's position, however it did clear a good thirty foot radius. As she began to take a second swing, the tentacles from his Shadow Sewing Jutsu shot up and lunged for her and her weapon. Latching on, they constricted her, and the weapon, forcing her into a standstill. Seiko made a quick pass by and cut a few of them off, however more came in their place.

Yashimanji was quick to get back up and began to wreck the area in hopes of looking for Shikamaru. As Juunko began to break free of their grip, a trio of shadows shot out from the ground and took hold of all three Shinobi's. Immediately, looks of confusion spread to all of their faces.

_Shadow Possession Jutsu is a success._

" Wha…what the hell is this?" the pale man shouted as he struggled to try and get his body to move.

The other two followed the same, however were unable to move. Shikamaru's voice rang out from the shadows of the tree's, seeming to come from everywhere.

" It's Shadow Possession Jutsu. Unfortunately you're now mine…" he said, as his eyes scanned for that remaining Shinobi.

Still unable to see her, he made a quick sign and prompted a shadowy hand to rise from their shadows and place itself on their necks. Before the squeezing could begin however, he felt something bind around his own.

" I'd suggest you release them." stated a calm female voice from just behind him.

His eyes widened as his mind tried to figure it out.

" I'm a tracker. The wilderness is my home. So fooling the seals you have placed over these woods is second nature to me." she hushed, pulling him up from his crouching position and onto his feet.

He was still unable to tell what was wrapped around his neck, though by it's varying thickness, guessed it to be a whip of some sorts. A small blade from a Kunai was now stuck into the small of his back, just enough to break the skin and drive her point home.

" Well there goes that advantage…" he said with a sigh.

She chuckled slightly, then gave him a strong push forwards and out into the open.

" Release them." she commanded, tightening the coils around his neck as a threat.

Complying, he did as she asked.

" Good. Now strip." she stated.

" What? Here?" he asked, somewhat confused.

" Do it now or I'll pop your head clean off." she commanded again.

Allowing him a step forwards, he took off his vest, then unlatched the pouches he kept his equipment in, and tossed them aside.

" That's everything…now what?" he responded reluctantly.

" No way! Make him take it all off! Let's march him all the way back in his skivvies!" elated the Uwatari.

The woman holding Shikamaru hostage sighed heavily at her teammates antics.

" It's fine as long as we have all his equipment." she said, turning the Leaf Shinobi to face herself.

Coming into view, the woman was tall and slender. Her face was hidden behind a full mask, similar to that of an ANBU. As he had expected, she was using a whip to constrict his neck. Taking a step closer to him, she reached out and patted Shikamaru down, in search of any more weapons. Once satisfied, she motioned for him to begin walking.

" Keep your hands in the air where I can see them. Try to make any signs and you'll be sorry." she warned.

" Yeah yeah…" he replied, trying to come up with a plan.

_What a drag…No equipment and now they've got me…if I try and use any Jutsu's I'm really gonna get it too. Damn it…think Shikamaru…_

He glanced about the quartet of Ninja's, however felt the coils around his neck tighten up, realizing that the woman behind him was being rather serious about him not trying anything. Before he could sigh and mutter about how troublesome this was, a blast of wind roared through the trees and scattered all five of them down and across the ground. Shikamaru pushed himself upwards and darted for his vest. Once he slipped it on, he drew the Trench Knives from it's pockets.

" You should have gone back for help you troublesome woman." he called out as his assailants began to stand back up.

Dropping down from overhead, the young blond with the large fan made herself finally known. Wearing a wide grin, her fan opened, allowing the three stars upon its surface to stare back menacingly.

" Now if I'd have done that, who do you think would have come to rescue you?" she said with a heavy sarcasm, " Either way…I thought you had some kind of plan."

" If help isn't coming, and it's just the two of us…then yeah. I do. I just didn't want to resort to it." he spoke, holding up his hands, " This'll take a bit of time…can you hold them off_?"_

Her grin widened. Four S class Shinobi's and it was her job to hold them off. It was in idiots gamble, but there was some part of her that was enjoying the idea of such a test of her abilities. Her mind was much like his, and was working in over drive, as she had to protect her friend and maintain that Shadow Clone she released.

" If it's time you want…" she said as she drew back her fan, " then I'll give you all I have!"


	7. Woodland Battlefield, part 2

The L Boogie- ACTION! RAAA! ACTION! ROOOOAAARRR! ACTION! YEAH!

Well…kinda. This chapters action packed baby! It's good to get it up and running to. Sorry if it's taken a little long…I just had to work thing out slowly to try and get them as natural and believable as I could. I sorta feel like I copped out on the ending a little…but then again, I do like to leave some things unsaid. Still, this almost completely wraps up this whole first arc. There should only be two shorter chapters left, and then we'll get onto some more plot thickening.

Ummm…let's see now…thanks for the reviews…and if you read it, and you like it…please review it! I love reviews! Enjoy.

Legal Jargon- I don't own Naruto. The world, the characters, the…well…everything. Except for the Author Created stuff. So don't try to sue me, cause you can't get blood from stone.

The Darkhorse: A Naruto Fan Fiction

Woodland Battlefield, part 2

A tremendous wind approached the four enemy Nin as Temari brought her fan around. Junko and Seiko darted out of the way and took cover against the ground. Yashimanji began to march against the powerful force, shrugging off the repeated blows caused by the Chakra that was folded into the wind. The third woman took shelter behind Yashimanji, and was able to move up along with him. Upon the backswing of her fan, Temari took a step forwards as she sent forth another burst of the hurricane winds. Immediately following, she made a quick dash forward, and with the wind as her momentum, thrust her fan into Yashimanji's stone like body, knocking the golem of a man off his feet and into his own teammate.

Deciding that a strong beginning offense would be her greatest strength, the Suna Nin took another swing of her fan, this time directing the wind at her feet to kick up all the loose dirt and leaves along the ground in order to conceal herself without dropping a smoke bomb. As the four enemy Shinobi began to recover from her assault, they were alarmed at her lack of presence.

" She's gone? Great job guys…way to lose her." Seiko growled.

" Don't blame me child! I do not hide from my enemy unlike you!" Yashimanji bellowed.

" Yeah…that's right. You walk straight into her attacks and let yourself get thrown into your own teamates." scolded the masked woman.

" Only because you are weak. I will not be faulted for your carelessness, Nanakoi!" Yashimanji shot back at the masked woman.

_Nanakoi? She's the Rogue from our village…._

From points unknown, Temari watched with narrow eyes as irritation welled up inside her body. Her pride as a Shinobi of Suna suddenly became on the line as she had a more personal stake with the rogue from her own village. The quartet continued to argue as they moved closer together in a circular formation. Suddenly, a trio of smoke bombs fell from the treetop. Immediately, Temari dropped down from above and gave priority to Yashimanji, as she brought her giant fan down upon his head, dropping him prone along the ground.

Taking a step to her left, she swung her body around with the fan and slammed it against Junko, tossing her aside. A quick turn on her heel, she opened her fan and summoned a wind strong enough to blow Seiko back a few yards into a large bush. Finally, she had Nanakoi separated.

" Nanakoi Satori…YOUR MINE!" Temari shouted with a grin as she lunged at the woman from within the smoke.

Her shoulder collided against Nanakoi's side, pushing them both out of the cloud. As this occurred, Temari dropped a paper bomb along the ground behind them to ward off any immediate pursuers and buy her another moments worth of time to attempt a take down of the S class Ninja. Continuing to follow her momentum, Temari spun her heel around and smashed it as hard as she could into the body of the Suna rogue. Following up with Kunai knives, Temari frowned with displeasure as the body of the woman disappeared when struck by the bladed projectiles, leaving only a wooden log in her place.

" Damn it." she spat, darting directly away.

The other three Ninja's were already almost up, though since Yashimanji was the slowest of the group, she raced his way and leap frogged over the stone skinned man, leaving a second paper bomb stuck to his back. As it detonated, luck decided to smile upon her, as the flash from the explosion revealed Seiko's position to her as she was preparing an ambush. Before she could land a preemptive blow, she caught sight of a long and slender glimmer sweeping around from just behind and to her right. Temari closed her fan and held it out just in time to block a swing from Junko's scythe, however she was not lucky enough to avoid being caught inside the blade of the weapon, and felt her body pull backwards towards the dark haired Kunoichi.

Taking in a deep breath, Temari thrust her arms and fan forwards against the blade of the scythe, with flexing her leg muscles and fight against Junko's entrapment. She found marginal success as she pulled Junko off balance enough for her to escape from the inside region of the scythe, however as she tried to make a break for it, she tripped on the cord of a whip. Falling forwards was to her benefit, as it allowed her to catch a glimpse of the caltrops left in the ground. With a well placed pair of hands, and a skillful twist in her hips, she avoided the trap.

Upon steadying herself back on her feet, she whipped open her fan and blew the caltrops back towards Junko with a mighty wind, turning the typically passive pieces of shrapnel into a very dangerous hail. Before she would take any damage from the flying caltrops, Junko made a quick series of hand signs, then pulled her scythe around.

" Massive Scything Blade Jutsu!" she shouted.

The blade of her scythe grew to much larger proportions for just a brief moment as she used it's girth to shield her body from the projectiles. Now, free from both the Scythe and the Whip, Temari was forced next to deal with Seiko as she sprung upon her, hoping to sneak in a quick attack. A brief glint from behind Seiko revealed a half a dozen senbons hiding in her shadow, so Temari had to time her next move. Once Seiko was within striking range, instead of swinging her fan to knock the beastial woman aside, she planted it by her left foot and opened it to it's full breadth, using the momentum from the other side of the fan to knock the woman away. Ducking down, she took cover as the senbons bounced harmlessly her weapon.

The hard thumping of footsteps on the ground heralded a quickly approaching charge from the stone skinned Yashimanji. He smashed through her cover and reared his head into Temari's ribs, flinging her off to his left. Although she landed hard against the ground, she was able to roll into recovery quickly, as Yashimanji began to charge at her again. With a brief look around her, she could see Nanakoi stalking up from behind, while Seiko and Junko began to flank her on each side.

_Damn it…I'm surrounded…_

Her body stiffened upright as the four had completely surrounded her. She spread her arms out with her palms facing outwards, increasing the width in her stance as well as dropping her height with a slight bend in her knees.

" Give it up, Sabaku no Temari…" claimed Nanakoi.

" Yeah. Give up and we don't rip your pretty little body to shreds." clamored Seiko.

" Enough you guys…let's get her taken care of this quickly. That Nara guy is still around here too." Junko insisted, resting her scythe along her shoulders.

Yashimanji stepped up towards her, placing one of his rather large hands along her slender neck.

" How about I break every bone in her body? I'm sure that Otagakure would still accept her, so long as she is breathing…" the large man offered.

" Yashimanji! Shut your mouth!" Nanakoi scolded loudly,

" I do not fear you woman. No one standing here can even scratch my body…so why hould I give a damn as to what you say?" he shot back, his face looking more grim.

Their gazes locked as the others took glances between themselves. With such a distraction, Temari knew she would only have this one chance.

_This'll take a lot of chakra…but this is my only chance…_

Quickly, the blond Suna Kunoichi gathered up a great deal of chakra. Then, while making hand signs on each of her hands, she took a step towards Yashimanji. As he began to ready himself for an attack., she made another series of hand signs on each hand while turning on her heel 180 degrees and taking another step.

" Ninja Art, Whirlwind's Step!" she called out.

As her body turned, tornadic winds picked up around her, spinning well over a hundred miles an hour. She continued spinning on her heel with each step she took, darting through the S rank ninjas while the high speed winds surrounded her body and tossed them aside, allowing her the freedom to move about. As the quartet made another advance against her, Temari took a few more steps into them, spinning and turning her body as she went with her arms still outstretched, summoning her wind and using it to hurl them aside. But after another series of uses, she found herself lacking for chakra as well as physical stamina. She slumped against a nearby tree as the four rose to their feet and took formation on the ground.

" That's rather impressive Temari…never knew you had it in you." Nanakoi mocked.

" Sh…shut up…" Temari spat, with labored breathing.

" Alright…that's enough. You've about exhausted your chakra…so why don't you come with us while you're still alive…"Junko sighed.

Temari took a weary step backwards as the three Kunoichi's began to surround her from the front. Another step back and she was blocked off by the massive form of Yashimanji. Before she could back away, his palm shot out and gave her a very hard shove backwards, launching the blond hard into the ground. With her chakra depleted, she was slow to stand up, and even worse was that she was completely surrounded.

" We're taking you with us woman. I most certainly hope that the reward on your head from Otagakure will be worth it considering what it has cost me…" Yashimanji exclaimed as he towered over Temari.

She clenched her teeth as his large hand came forward and began to grasp at her. With nowhere to go, she decided that it might be in her best interest to set off the remaining paper bombs she had in her possession.

_If they think they're going to just give me to the Sound, they've got another thing coming…_

As she reached for the remaining bombs, Seiko darted forwards and grabbed Temari's forearm, digging her nails in enough to draw blood.

" Oh ho…no you don't! We prefer you alive and in one piece…though…I doubt anyone will care if you're missing an arm…" she laughed as she brought one of her blades up and against her elbow.

As the blade of the claw pressed against her skin, Temari shut her eyes and prepared her body for the damage. A moment in absolute darkness passed, and then she felt a powerful force breeze by her body. Immediately, she felt her arm free up which provoked her to open her eyes. To her surprise, all four of her assailants were laid out across the ground. As they got up, Yashimanji lowered his shoulder and threw his body at Temari, in hopes to settle the score for whatever had hit him. She braced herself yet again, not having reclaimed her stamina or agility yet. Before the giant man would reach her however, a wall of darkness swept upwards from the ground and surrounded Temari, stopping Yashimanji in his tracks. The remaining three enemy Kunoichi took a defensive position as the wall cleared away, revealing an awestruck Temari and a fearsome looking Shikamaru.

" What…the hell…" Junko began to say, taking in the Shadow Nin's visage.

Certainly, he still looked the same. However there were two very notable things about him at this time. One was the patterns of blood drawn across his face. The other, was the monstrous looking entity enshrouded in darkness standing just behind him. Well over seven feet tall, it had long black spines protruding down from it's head, almost like hair. It's arm was raised in their direction while it's palm and outstretched fingers faced towards the four enemy Shinobi. Every other feature on it's body aside from it's cold blue eyes was completely definition less.

" Wha…Shikamaru?" Temari asked warily, unsure of what her comrade had done in his absence.

He looked her way, and opened his mouth to say something, until a jagged opening appeared in the creature face, as it's deep voice filled the silence.

" Finish it." it commanded.

Shikamaru's expression dulled slightly, however he began making a series of hand signs as Temari watched on carefully.

_What's this? Those signs are typical of a summoning Jutsu…so did he summon that thing to come aid us?_

Immediately, once she thought he would be finished, the hand signs continued, and changed into another very recognizable series as well.

_Transformation now? What the hell is he doing?_

Finally, after finishing the typical seals for a transformation jutsu, he continued again. Now, he had switched to an unfamiliar series of signs to Temari, finally ending with him holding his palm outward.

" Forbidden Art…" he began to say.

_Forbidden_ _Art? What does he think he's doing?_

Shikamaru knelt down to the ground and placed his hand on his shadow, causing the line of blood drawn on his face to glow faintly.

" SHADOW TRANSFORMATION JUTSU!" he shouted.

Briefly his eyes closed and black tendrils shot out from the creature standing over him and began to wrap around him like chains. Immediately, his eyes shot open, filled entirely with the same darkness the creature seemed to be made out of, with the exception of a pair of cold blue iris glowing from deep within. The creature's body began to shift, and melted into Shikamaru's own shadow as the chains disappeared and released the young man.

" Temari…" he said, his attentions not turning away from their enemy, " stay back. This Jutsu's a tad dangerous and I'm not used to it yet…" he cautioned.

Unsure of what else to do, she complied and took refuge a short distance behind Shikamaru.

" Alright you four. I'll say this once. Get out of my family's woods." he warned.

" You…YOU!" Yashimanji began before he threw himself at Shikamaru.

Throwing a single hand forward, a group of large, shadowy spikes ripped upwards from the ground and smashed into the stone skinned man. As he was sent flying quite a ways back, the other three began a counter assault. Nanakoi's whip ripped through the air and attempted to strike Shikamaru in the neck. Before it would hit however, a shadowy tendril swept it away and pinned it to the ground.

From his peripheral vision, he caught a pincer attack by Junko's scythe and Seiko's blades. He reached out to each side with his trench knives and was able to stop both attacks with an unnatural strength. In an even greater display, he thrusted his shoulders outwards and pushed both of the women backwards onto their rears. Following up, he reached to his shadow and pulled it up off the ground. It flowed and flapped like a blanket in the wind, and with effortless force, he tossed it at Junko. Unable to recover before it enveloped her, she disappeared underneath it's darkness, only noticeable from her rampant screams and thrashing about.

" Oh…God…LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT OF HERE!" she cried out.

Seiko leapt over Shikamaru and made an attempt to grab the shadowy blanket off her teammate, however found she was unable to even grasp at it. Worse off now, a black hand slid up her body and wrapped itself around her neck. It's grip was tight, and quickly began to incapacitate the woman. As she keeled over, Shikamaru felt a movement behind him, and turned in time to block a short series of attacks by Nanakoi, who in which he fended off by creating a large wall of darkness and slamming it into the masked woman. It continued to push against her until she was trapped between it, and a large tree. It slowly began to squeeze the life out of her as she struggled to pull herself free.

He turned now to Temari, whom which came out of her cover and retrieved her fan.

" Are you alright?" he asked.

" Sure. But…" she began.

" This? It's…" he started to explain before the appearance of a large shadow on the ground alerted him to danger.

Above their heads, a large rock was falling. Shikamaru reached upwards with a single hand as a dozen other shadowy hands took to the air to stop it's descent. Before he would put it down, the rock split apart and exploded, prompting Shikamaru to pull together another wall of shadows to protect them from the debris. Then, a powerful fist broke through the confines of the wall, colliding with Shikamaru and pushing him back a couple of feet. Following through with more attacks, Yashimanji began clubbing at Shikamaru with his large powerful fists, knocking the smaller Shinobi around and eventually to the ground.

Now prone, Shikamaru had to suffer at the wrath of Yashimanji's feet, as he continued to stomp on the small of his back over and over, pressing hundreds of pounds of weight repeatedly into him. The ground around the pair began to crack and eventually a crater was starting to form. He groaned and coughed as the larger man began to dig his heel into the prone Ninja's side, trying to crush the life from his body.

" YOU WILL SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY MEN!" the stone giant exclaimed, hammering his heel into Shikamaru's body again.

" No…you…can't…you…" Shikamaru struggled to say while he was being thrashed.

Temari, not wanting to watch anymore, threw caution to the wind, and despite her dire lack of chakra, advanced on Shikamaru's attacker. Landing her fan into the back of his head, she realized that he was becoming pure adrenaline by this point, and the blow seemed to not even register. Again, she swung the large weapon, this time planting it in his side. Though it had no effect, it did garner his attention long enough to cause him to swipe at her with one of his massive fists. Effectively knocking her away, her body bounced along the ground until it hit a tree, where the breath was knocked from her body in a whispery cry. Suddenly, a pulse shot through the woods. A massive build up of chakra began to eminate from under Yashimanji, and in an instant, Shikamaru opened his eyes to reveal the brightly glowing cold blue rings.

" ENOUGH!" he bellowed as he waved his hand an two dozen large shadowy chains ripped up from the ground and pulled Yashimanji off of him.

Despite his immense strength, Yashimanji could not pull free, and before long he found himself suspended in the air as more and more chains began to form, trapping him in something akin to a spider web.

" Fool. Do you know what you hath wrought?" Shikamaru asked, with his voice intermingled with the monster from before.

Temari stood up slowly to witness this strange, new, powerful, and terrifying Shikamaru. A part of her held him in awe, while another felt that this change was abrupt, sudden, and very uncharacteristic. He held out his hand while a long black spear began to form. Pulling back, he lurched his body forwards and threw the weapon with a great deal of force at the helpless Yashimanji. It struck against his stomach, and to both his own and Temari's surprise, it pierced through his rock like skin. As it stuck out of him, a small trail of blood dribbled out along the shaft of the weapon and began pooling on the ground. Despite his cries and his struggling, Yashimanji could do nothing to escape.

Again, Shikamaru stabbed him through with another spear, this time imbedding it in his shoulder. A loud popping sound tore through the air as it separated his bones and split out of his skin. As Shikamaru began to form a third spear, Temari rushed in front of him and grabbed a hold of it, hampering him from throwing it.

" That's enough Shikamaru! This isn't like you!" she yelled, looking him in the eyes.

His cold, newly blue eyes stared back without pity before he shouldered her off of him.

" Enough woman." he dismissed as he began to draw back the weapon.

Not willing to allow such a comment to sit unanswered, Temari did what she believed to be the dumbest, and yet most right thing in her life at the time. Drawing her fan back, she slammed it against the back of Shikamaru's head, knocking him off balance.

" Don't you dare think I'll let you get away with that. I don't know what's going on with you Shikamaru…but I won't tolerate that kind of crap!" the blond spat.

" You…" he said, standing up quickly, "…you really just did that?"

He began to snicker, until it erupted into and out and out cackle. Shikamaru spread his arms out as the shadowy tendrils darted about and collected the other three enemy Shinobi, all whom which were struggling to survive. Suspending them high off the ground with the long black shadowy chains, the possessed Shadow Nin reached out and restrained Temari almost instantaneously, and forced her to watch his handiwork.

" Watch woman. Watch and see what I can do. See how weak you are, at that you cannot bear to cause harm to those who would harm you. Though you'd liken to kill them…you would not cause them to suffer? Such is the weakness of the heart…weakness of the human…" he began to say as the chains coiled around all the enemy Shinobi's necks and attempted to hang all four at once.

Temari struggled to free herself, but her body was tired from fighting and even more so from her lack of chakra. She bit her lip and tried to look away, but the monster her friend had become refused to let her. As the seconds ran on, their enemy began to lose the life from their bodies, and Temari began to fear the worst.

But, in a flash, the chains broke and their barely breathing bodies fell to the ground. In the moonlight appeared the silhouette of a Ninja. The twin swords this person wielded though were not the most concerning factor. Neither was in which the speed in which they had arrived and attacked with. No, the only real feature of this mysterious Ninja was their bright red Sharingon Eyes.

" No way…" Temari began to say, before the marks in the mystery Shinobi's eyes turned sharper, " Mangekyo Sharingon…"

As Temari stared back, the world around her began to become hazy. Though this person wasn't looking at her, she feared she was being caught in a Genjutsu. And with her arms restrained as they were, she had no way to break free from it.

" You…who are you?" Shikamaru asked in a low voice, now almost completely taken over by the monster's own.

The figure stared back as a gaping wound appeared across Shikamaru's body. The chains binding Temari suddenly broke free and allowed her to pull away just in time. Now, he began to scream, and his voice was filled with an inhuman cry as the shadows gathered around him and lashed out at everything. Temari opened her fan and used it for cover, but was becoming overwhelmed quickly. Yashimanji, Nanakoi, Seiko, and Junko all decided to make a hasty retreat while the fifth Shinobi watched on as Shikamaru had a meltdown.

It was then that Temari felt the approach of a quartet of Shinobi, with one she was specifically intimate with and had been expecting. As they came into the clearing, she was relieved to see the Shadow Clone she sent to go find help had found Tsunade and Kakashi as she hoped, as well as Gai. The clone disappeared, returning some chakra back to Temari while Tsunade scouted out Shikamaru and decided to handle that problem instantly. She made a dozen hand signs as she cleared the distance from behind him, then pulled back her fist.

" Ninja Art! Shadow Sealing Fist!" the Hokage called out whist launching it into the back of Shikamaru's head. It knocked him forwards and rocked him into the ground.

The shadows he had summoned all dissipated as he lost consciousness. Immediately, Gai and Kakashi took an aggressive forward stance in an attempt to confront the mysterious Sharingon bearer, however the Shinobi gave them a warning glare before turning and retreating as well.

" Tsunade-sama…" Gai asked immediately.

" Don't follow them. Things are bad enough as it is. Let's get these two and get out of here. We'll figure out what's going on after that." she ordered.

" Understood!" the pair said in unison, as Gai collected Shikamaru while Kakashi went to check on Temari.

" What a mess…" Tsunade commented before the five of them took off, " Let's head back to Shikamaru's apartment so we can get him looked at."

With that said, Tsunade, Kakashi, Temari, and Gai headed back to Shikamaru's apartment, with him in tow.

A short amount of time passed, and before long, Shikamaru slowly awakened. He was quick to realize that he was finally back at home and laying down on his sofa. The two men and two women gathered at the table looked his way as they heard him stir, only to see him still asleep and continued their conversation.

" Anyways…that's what happened." Temari reported.

" Well I suppose I should tell you…Otagakure has made a request to have to brought to them in order to try you for your supposed crimes. Obviously it's got to be more than just that…however they're staying fairly tight lipped and they're being persistent about it. The Kazekage has declared that he will not hand you over, and has made the point that a deeper investigation should be made. They haven't really gotten back to us on that part yet. Is there anything else that you can think of? Did they attack Shikamaru just to get to you? Or could they have been after him as well?" Tsunade asked with a strong concern.

" I'm not certain. Since I was not there for the entire conversation, I can't fully say." Temari explained.

" This certainly is a change for the more disturbing. That many S class Ninja's…we haven't seen that since the Akatsuki…and then we have Shikamaru's new jutsu…and someone else who bears the Sharingon. Could it have been Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

" I would doubt it. This person had two arms. Sakura was the person who treated Sasuke's wounds after their defeat of Orochimaru, and she had to amputate one of his arms. I'd imagine it to be unlikely that he could have grown a new arm, or even gotten someone to replace it." Tsunade stated.

" Either way, we should inform the ANBU Black Ops immediately. Will we postpone the festival?" asked Gai.

" No. Not after what Temari said. If Shikamaru really did that kind of damage to them…I doubt we'd be seeing them tomorrow. But we will inform the Black Ops and have their Bingo Book entries updated. Is there anything else you want to say before we go?" the older blond asked as she stood up.

" That jutsu Shikamaru used…you seemed familiar with it. Can you tell me about it?" inquired the Suna ambassador.

" Only thing I know is that it's very dangerous and unpredictable. It consistently eats away at his chakra at an alarming rate, and the less chakra he has, the less control on it he can exert. What happened tonight is why I warned him against using such a technique. Are you planning to stay with him?" Tsunade questioned with a perked eyebrow.

Temari's face took on a slightly pink tone.

" Only until he wakes up. I just want to make sure he's alright…" she stammered, ever so slightly.

Tsunade shrugged gently, then headed for the door, being followed by the Copycat Ninja and the Taijutsu master.

" When he wakes up…tell him to stop by in the morning. I won't let him get out of his scolding." Tsunade said with a smirk as the three left.

" Get out of a scolding?" Temari asked before walking over to the couch.

As soon as the door shut, Shikamaru's eyes popped open.

" That damn woman knew it the whole time…" he complained to Temari's surprise.

" How long have you been awake?" she asked.

" Only for a little bit. I was hoping I wouldn't get a lecture…but it looks like I don't have much of a choice…" he revealed.

" I see. Then I guess you already know that it won't spare you from me…right?" she asked with a sadistic grin.

" Troublesome. Fine…I'll tell you. After Pain's invasion of Konoha, I got to talking to Naruto after I found out what had happened. I heard about his Toad Sage form, and as he explained it to me, he summoned the Toad Sages and then found a way to merge their bodies together in order to make himself more powerful. It's a pretty good idea…but I never really knew any real summoning jutsu's. Or at least…none to any real effect. But then Tsunade gave me the task of learning from the Scoll of Sealing…and that's where I learned a lot about summoning jutsu's."

" I had Tsunade stand in on my first, and only attempt to summon it. It was a success for the most part. We made the pact, but the transformation didn't go too well. Once we had joined bodies, it tried to take over my mind, and it didn't take too long to lose control and force Tsunade to bring us down. After than, she forbade me from using the jutsu, titling it as a Forbidden Jutsu, and had me write it down in the Scroll of Sealing." the spiky haired Shinobi explained.

" So what does it do then? Looks like it summons some kind of demon and then you allow it to possess you." she responded in question.

" That's not far off the mark. When we merge, it allows me to utilize my shadow jutsu's without any restriction. No need for hand signs or chakra build up. It all acts on my thoughts and actions, as well as gives me a physical boost. In exchange, it consistently drains my chakra…so I can't maintain control for very long. I was hoping I could dispatch those four before I lost control…but it looks like I screwed up again." he finished, bringing a cigarette up to his mouth as he sat upright.

The slightly older blond sighed, then took her fist and dropped it onto the crown of his head with a medium force. He reeled back slightly at the punishment and rubbed the now forming bump.

" Stupid. Next time you go and almost get us killed, give me a little more warning…" she scolded, walking towards the exit.

" You leaving?" he asked, almost sounding sad.

" Yeah. I'm tired. Now don't forget…festival starts around six tomorrow evening. Meet up with me at the fish scooping booths. And try not to be late." she said, walking out the door.

" Wait…when did we talk about this?" he asked.

" We just did." she called as she was closing the door.

He ran for the exit in order to further press more questions, but by the time he was outside his apartment, she was long gone. Shikamaru let out a gentle laugh as he lit up a cigarette.

_Troublesome woman. Went through all that trouble today just to ask me to be her escort to the festival. Oh well…makes things a bit easier on me…_

With a sigh, he allowed himself to finish his cigarette, putting the small fiery end out on the sole of his shoe before heading back into his apartment. Tossing off his Jounin Vest, he stripped down and decided to call it a night, and let his mind wander back to his time with Temari in the woods, until the peaceful and wonderful memories lulled him to slumber.


End file.
